Wizards of the Sea
by Eliza May Tyto
Summary: Set in the universe of Harry Potter's magical world, the tale starts as Harry, Ron and Hermione start a new unit about Wizard Pirates in their History of Magic class. As Professor Binns lulls his students to sleep, the settings change to what really went down in the 1700's. Cutting back and forth between past and present, this comedic story is sure to shiver your timbers.
1. Chapter 1

Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried gratefully out of the potions room, Ron still wiping Bubotuber Pus that Malfoy had lobbed across the room from his hair.

"Double Potions followed by History of Magic. This day cannot get any better." Harry said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least we can fall asleep there without getting detention." Ron added.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, an affronted look on her face. "You should be taking notes! And then you sit there and wonder why you fail your exams."

"But you will let me look at your notes, right?" Ron asked hopefully. Hermione sniffed haughtily and refused to look at him. "Oh come on, Hermione! You wouldn't let me and Harry fail our exams." He wheedled.

Harry sighed. "Ron, you can read my notes if you want… if I make it long enough to take any." The trio laughed at this, for Professor Binns was notorious for putting his students to sleep with his sonorous voice.

"But seriously," Hermione said. "The Golden Age of Magical Piracy may actually be an interesting topic."

"Yeah, and Professor Snape is going to tell me I'm his favorite student tomorrow." Harry said dryly.

"It does sound interesting, but not when Binns starts droning about it." Ron said truthfully. They filed into Professor Binns' classroom after the other third years and took their normal seats at the back. Binns slowly drifted in through the blackboard and over to his desk, blinking his opaque basset-hound eyes sleepily.

"Settle down class." Binns croaked feebly, completely unaware how his students already seemed lack-luster. "In 1713 somewhere in the North Atlantic, the crew of the _Night Swan_ lead by Captain Rosalie Fawcett overtook the muggle ship, _Magnetic North_ and by chance rescued the wizard Oswald 'Ozzy' Theart…"

…

With a loud creaking the door was thrown open, letting blinding light stream into the hull.

"Well, well, well." A mocking female voice sounded from above. "What do we have here?" Ozzy blinked up at the bright circle, just able to make out several silhouettes gathered at the edge of the hatch. "Be ye wizard or muggle?"

"Wizard." Ozzy croaked.

"Ha! Told you, Adam," the voice came again as one of the thinner silhouettes lightly punch the shoulder of another. "Are you alone down there?"

"No!" Another voice sounded from the dark. "Killian Thames, wizard! Get me out of here!"

"Alright, lads!" The woman shouted. "Throw down the ladder!" A rope ladder came down, nearly hitting Ozzy in the head. He cursed and slowly climbed up into the light. Ozzy hauled himself on deck, straightening his dark brown jacket. The wizard fumbled around in a pocket, then realized what he was looking for wasn't there. His dirty hair fell into his face, and he brushed it aside as he nodded.

"G'day, witches and wizards. As much as I appreciate the rescue, I'd like to get my sword back before all the introductions."

"Tough luck," a woman said, stepping forward from the circle of onlookers. "Name and story first, then weapons," her eyes narrowed. "And where is your wand?" Ozzy tried to take a step forward but a man quickly pointed his wand at him before he could move.

"Take another step and I'll blast a hole in yer' head!"

Ozzy regarded him without saying anything, interlocking his fingers before cracking them at an unnatural angle. "My name is Oswald Theart. Call me Ozzy. Can I assume that you are the captain of this here crew?"

"That is where you would be mistaken," the woman said coolly. "Captain Rosalie Fawcett, at your service." She said with a sarcastic curtsy. She was only average sized in height, maybe shorter, but it was hard for Ozzy to tell for she was wearing high heeled black leather boots. She was clad in a frilly, cobalt blue skirt with a white, off-the-shoulders blouse and black corset. A matching blue bandana held back her bushy, dark brown curly hair, and a black lace shawl was tied jauntily about her waist. Large, golden hoops swung at her ears and a silver diamond necklace sparkled at her throat. A large hyacinth macaw perched on her shoulder as she glared at Ozzy, radiating authority.

"Interesting. Gryffindor? And then who is our wand-happy friend?"

"Adam, first mate," the big man grunted, still pointing his wand at Ozzy's head. "That's all you're gonna get."

"I'm fine with that." Ozzy smiled, still bending his fingers. Glancing around, he dropped his arms to his sides. His voice lowered to a whisper. "Might want to stand back." With a rapid flick of the wrist, a thin wand dropped into his hand.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " He shouted, sending Adam's wand flying, to be caught by Rosalie. Yet Ozzy was not finished. Raising his wand to the sky at the same moment, he gave another cry. " _Fumos!_ " Smoke poured forth around him, obscuring the wizard from view. From somewhere nearby his voice resounded with " _Avis!_ " and with a deafening boom, more smoke several yellow birds flew forth in a flutter of wings.

Shouting broke forth as the birds rushed around, before disappearing into the sky. The smoke cleared, revealing a fuming Adam and an amused Rosalie. Ozzy stood behind them on the quarterdeck, a cup in his hand.

"They always said I was great at charms," he smiled. " _Eye of rabbit, harp string hum, turn this water into rum_." The wizard drained the drink, his eyebrows shooting up. "Oi, now that's some good stuff."

"I'm impressed." Rosalie said slowly.

"Oh, you should see my memory charms." Ozzy shrugged and tossed the cup away. "If you wanna demonstration I can do it on this crew of muggles. Or that angry first mate of yours."

Adam stepped forwards, his brow furrowed. Rosalie returned his wand, but motioned not to do anything to Ozzy.

"We could use some fancy charm work like that aboard the _Night Swan_ ," Rosalie said, looking about and getting confirming nods from her crew. "We do need an new Obliviator. So, Ozzy, what shall it be? Back to the brig, or back with your fellow wizards?"

"Easy choice," Ozzy said. "I would be honored to have a place in your crew."

"Oi! What about me?" Killian shouted, the short wizard scrambling ungracefully out from the hold. "Please take me with you!" He cried, throwing himself at Rosalie's feet. The crew of the _Night Swan_ laughed uproariously.

"An' why should we take a scallywag like you aboard?" Rosalie asked mockingly. "I know a landlubber when I see one."

"Hey, it's true, I'll admit it," Killian said nervously. "This is my first time at sea, but I've had training to be a professional navigator, and I can play a mean violin." He added hopefully. The crew howled with laughter again.

"I can vouch for him," Ozzy said wearily. "No one is better at playing the violin than he is." This only sent the crew into further spasms of hysterics.

"Can you vouch for his navigation skills?" Rosalie asked with a smirk. "We do appreciate our music aboard the _Night Swan_ , but it sure isn't everything around here."

"He tells the truth. He _is_ pretty good at navigating his way around."

Rosalie looked Killian up and down, a sarcastic frown on her face. "Alright," She said at last. "Mr. Thames can join us. Adam, keep an eye on those two as they obliviate the muggles. The rest of you, get the gold onto the _Night Swan_ before this lot wakes up."

Ozzy smiled. "It'll be a pleasure. But first, there's the small matter of my sword."

"Do not fret, Mr. Theart," Rosalie said, looking back over her shoulder. "Complete this this one task and you can have your precious sword back." She and the rest of the crew disappeared down into the hull just as a black cat slunk out of the open door. It pattered quietly over to Ozzy and rubbed up against his legs, purring happily.

"Ramses! Nice to see ya among the living!" Ozzy said, kneeling down to scratch the animal between the ears. "Does Rosalie let animals on board?"

"That is the Captain to you." Adam growled, still pointing his wand at Ozzy.

"Alright then. Does _the Captain_ let animals aboard the _Night Swan_? Because I insist upon bringing him, it's not every day that you find a polydactyl cat. They're good luck."

"Well, pterodactyl cat or not, the Captain gets the last say," Adam answered. "Her only rule on animals is 'don't let your pet eat someone else's', but she's not over fond of cats. Now get obliviating."

"Alright, alright," Ozzy said, getting back to his feet. "And its _polydactyl_ , not _pterodactyl_." They turned to the group of stunned muggles that were tied to the mast, and Ozzy began his work.

Ozzy's voice rang out with a call of " _Obliviate!_ " While Adam lowered his wand from Killian's head.

"So how'd you end up with a wizard like Oz?" Adam asked.

"We crewed together on a ship travelling with a friend of Ozzy's, but we got split up in a storm. We lost some crew there, rest their souls. Afterwards we drifted for a couple days, before we encountered the muggles. Couldn't put up much of a fight until y'all arrived." Killian replied.

"Aye, it could be worse." Adam said, watching Ozzy go around and obliviate each muggle. "I'm Muggle born, my parents died in a fishing accident when I was five and I was forced to live with my Aunt and Uncle. My Aunt can't have kids, so she got real bitter towards me. Couldn't have been more relieved when I got my Hogwarts letter. Where you schooled there?"

"Yeah, Slytherin." Killian said. "How 'bout you?"

"Gryffindor, same as Rosalie. And Ozzy?"

"Ravenclaw, though some might say he'd be a better Slytherin."

"Right, gang!" Rosalie shouted, emerging from the hull. "Get that gold onto our ship! I am afraid some muggle monarchs are going to be very disappointed. Are those muggles obviated yet?"

"Aye, aye Captain!" One of the crew called.

"Righty-o! Here is your precious sword." Rosalie said, tossing Ozzy a long, thin blade with a hilt decorated with a golden clamshell.

"Precious indeed!" Ozzy laughed as he caught the sword. He inspected something on the hilt, then raised it above his head while snapping his heels together. A loud explosion and poof of smoke burst forth from the weapon, leading to a series of incredulous stares. "Well, it still works fine."

"Fancy," Rosalie said, only mildly impressed. "And you Killian, your wand. Wax Myrtle, lionfish spine core, thirteen and a half inches long, surprisingly rigid."

"Dang, you're good." Killian said, taking back his wand.

"I should be," Rosalie answered. "My father was a wandmaker afterall. Ready to board the _Night Swan_?"

"Question, I've got myself a cat, Ramses; will he be welcome on your ship?" Ozzy asked. Ramses jumped up onto the wizard's arm like a falcon and glared daggers at Rosalie.

"Bad kitty, _raaack_!" The hyacinth macaw on Rosalie's shoulder squawked.

" _And_ this is Gypsy," Rosalie said, gesturing to the stunning bird. "We don't like cats much."

"But Ramses is no ordinary cat, he's both black and polydactyl, which as you obviously know brings luck to a ship."

"A polly-what?" Rosalie asked, looking a bit startled.

"Oh boy, here we go." Killian grumbled. Ozzy smirked.

"He as extra toes on his paws. A classic sign of luck-bringing."

"Yeah, because what we need to bring us luck is a few extra toes." Adam snorted

"Ah, but have you heard tale of the wizard Andel Watters? He, his sister and brother and their crew were saved from disaster by their ship's cat, who happened to have a total of twenty-two toes!"

"How in the name of Merlin do you get saved by extra toes?" Adam said with an incredulous look at Ramses.

"Ask Andel or his sister. But believe me or not." Ozzy said. "Either way he will help keep the rat population down on any ship."

"And is that because of his extra toes?" Adam smirked.

"Extra toes beside, a cat could help keep the _Night Swan_ pest free," Rosalie finally said. "Can you promise that he will not attack any of the sailor's pets?"

"Of course." At Ozzy's words, Ramses flicked his tail and yawned.

"Then welcome aboard!" Rosalie said, hopping on a plank rigged on a crane which whisked her through the air and back onto her ship.

Ozzy and Killian looked out at the _Night Swan_ in awe. The sailing vessel was quite the large ship, its prow painted white and carved into a swan's head, and the side of the ship was complete with wings that were pulled tight against the hull. As the new crew members crossed the boarding planks over onto the ship, the swan turned its head and snapped at Ozzy and Killian.

"Merlin's beard!" Killian yelped, jumping back from the hissing swan to Adam's amusement.

"Let them pass!" Rosalie hollered from the deck. "New recruits!" The swan lifted its head gracefully and they continued their way onto the _Night Swan_ unhindered. Ozzy stepped aboard and looked about as the sails magically hoisted themselves, monitored by crew members as they sped away.

 **Author's Note:**

 **The result of reading Harry Potter while listening to Alestorm. Enjoy.**


	2. Chapter 2

Harry's head snapped up as Binns finished telling of the rescue of Ozzy and Killian. The professor continued droning on and on, no change in his monotone voice. "After the two wizards joined the crew of the _Night Swan_ , they set off for Octavia, and island in the tropics. On the way…"

Looking around, he spotted Hermione listened attentively while Ron dozed in his seat, a trail of drool slowly edging its way down his cheek.. Settling back, Harry prepared to see just how long it would take for him to drift off to sleep again.

…

"Do you like it?" Rosalie said, popping up suddenly at Ozzy's side. "Transfigured it myself." She added smugly.

"Magnificent!" Ozzy said, spinning on his heels.

"Alright, let me introduce you to the rest of the crew," She said. "Lets see, you have already met Adam here," Adam nodded in their direction. "And that over there is Leonard, the cook, and the guy in the purple bandana is Bilius, watch out for him." She added playfully.

"Slytherin?" Ozzy raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, Ravenclaw with a nasty temperament."

"Ah."

"Oh! Oh! And I'm S-"

" _And_ this is Accordion Girl." Rosalie said, throwing an arm around the only other female pirate aboard. Accordion Girl grinned and gave a short wave, her one blue eye flashing, the other covered by an eyepatch. A red bandana held back her straight, light brown hair and her matching vest glittered with gold trim.

"Accordion Girl?" Killian spluttered.

"Yup!" Accordion Girl nodded rapidly. "Want to hear what happened to my eye?"

"Er, sure...?"

"No! No!" Rosalie said hurriedly, grabbing Accordion Girl by the shoulders and steering her away. "Why don't you go and swab down the cannons?"

"CANNONS!" Accordion Girl squealed, clapping and giggling.

"No!" Rosalie said, sounding slightly panicked. "Clean them! Don't fire them!"

"Aw…" Accordion Girl said, sounding disappointed, but she perked up right away and skipped off. Rosalie shook her head slowly as Ozzy and Killian stared after her.

"So, what's her story?" Killian asked, looking confused. "And is her name really Accordion Girl?"

"Eh, no one really knows," Rosalie said with a shrug. "She's been around for as long as anyone can remember."

"Adorable…" Ozzy snarked. "Hufflepuff?" Rosalie nodded slowly.

"Ha! Still attractive either way!" Killian said. "But not as pretty as treasure chests over here." He added, throwing an arm around Rosalie. Ozzy sighed. A moment later Killian gave a pathetic yelp as Rosalie painfully twisted his arm behind his back, a cutlass suddenly at his throat. Adam's wand was instantly there, hovering dangerously in front of Killian's nose.

"There will be none of that talk on this ship, you hear?" Rosalie snarled, her normally beautiful, smiling face bent into a frown.

"First rule of the _Night Swan_ ," Adam growled. "Anyone who throws cheap shots at the Captain gets thrown overboard."

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry! But what about Accordion Girl?" Killian spluttered.

"As long as she has no problem with it, I couldn't care less. And I doubt she will." Rosalie said coolly, releasing Killian so he fell face first onto the deck. Ozzy reached down and hauled his wizard friend up.

"Adam, do you think there is enough cloud cover to hoist the ship?" Rosalie asked, looking up at the clouded, darkening sky.

"Aye," He said, gazing skywards as well. "We may have to set a watch in case the clouds disperse, but otherwise we should be fine."

"Splendid!" Rosalie said, clapping her hands together. "Ozzy, Killian, time to learn your positions. Ozzy, you stand at the quarterdeck, Killian there by the shrouds." They marched off to their places and looked expectantly back at Rosalie.

"Now what?" Killian asked in confusion.

"Just do what everyone else does!" Rosalie called down merrily from the quarterdeck.

"All hands on deck!" Adam bellowed. "To yer positions!" The crew scrambled about, except for Accordion Girl, who stood in the middle of everything, getting in the way. Finally she staggered up next to Ozzy, grinning madly. Ozzy gave her an uncertain smile and inched a step away. Rosalie stood looking down at the main deck as the crew lined the edges of the ship. The moment that they were all in position, she gave a curt nod to Adam. "Raise the ship!"

" _Wingardium leviosa_!" Each crew member shouted, moving their wands the classic swish and flick motion.

" _Wingardium leviosa_!" Ozzy, Killian and Accordion Girl cried, a moment behind everyone else. Accordion Girl's wand randomly produced a shower of sparks, setting the quarterdeck on fire.

" _Aguamenti!_ " Rosalie coughed amid the smoke, a jet of pure, clear water spurting from the tip of her wand, extinguishing the blaze. Adam glared at Accordion Girl who giggled sheepishly as the _Night Swan_ rose up into the starry sky.

"Does that always happen?" Ozzy asked, fanning the air with his hand as Accordion Girl skipped back down to the main deck.

"Almost every time," Rosalie said, shaking her head. "Why do you think I keep her up here with me?"

"Is she absolutely necessary?"

"No, but I let her so she doesn't feel bad."

"She is helpful sometimes," Adam said. "Remember that time when she turned Lord Scurvyteeth's hat into an octopus?"

"Ha! I do indeed!" Rosalie laughed, following him down onto the main deck. "Come on, I believe a good drinking party is in order!"

"Sounds fair!" Ozzy laughed. "What sorts of 'fine drink' 'ave yeh got onboard?"

"Ale, rum, you name it!"

"Some ale would be wonderful. A bloody storm of it!"

"You hear that, Leonard?" Rosalie hollered. "Bring out the ale, these men are thirsty!"

" _Raaaak_!" Gypsy croaked. "Thirsty!"

"You said it!" Killian shouted. Rosalie gave her wand a wave and several large lanterns blossomed from the tip, illuminating the deck. Several other crew members rolled up large casks from below deck. Accordion Girl bounced around the casks enthusiastically, nearly tripping over the one before another crew member shooed her off. Most of the crew hurried over to get their drinks.

"Right then! Let's have some music!" Rosalie cried to the enthusiastic cheers of the crew.

"Accordion! Accordion! Accordion!" Accordion Girl babbled, disappearing below deck presumably to fetch her famed instrument.

"Killian, fetch your violin!" Rosalie ordered. "It's time to see your skill."

"Oi! I play the baroque, you haven't got one of those lyin' around, have you?" Ozzy asked.

"Hmmm." Rosalie said thoughtfully. "I think we do have one of those. _Accio_!" A baroque guitar whizzed up from the bowels of the ship and into her hand, and she presented it to Ozzy. "It's yours."

"What happened to the previous owner?"

"He was sort of accidentally keelhauled…"

Ozzy winced, but before he could respond, Accordion Girl burst forth onto the deck with her instrument in hand. "A song!" She shouted.

"Here we go again…" Adam sighed so Accordion Girl couldn't hear, but caution wasn't needed as she was completely oblivious. She was already playing the accordion and singing without any accompaniment, and destroying everyone's ears.

"STOP! STOP! _PETRIFICUS TOTALUS_!" Rosalie shouted. Accordion Girl's mouth snapped shut and her arms froze. She tipped over backwards and was caught by Killian, who grinned.

"Put her down!" Ozzy hissed. "Now!"

"There will be no hanky panky aboard this vessel, mate, and if you want to try me you can walk the plank," Rosalie growled, marching over to Killian and ripping the frozen Accordion Girl from her grasp. Killian just smiled at her in a drunken sort of way.

"Had too much of that liquor, have we?" Adam began before Rosalie cut him off.

"Do you understand your captain?" Rosalie roared. "Because if there is a problem with those simple directions you might enjoy being keelhauled!"

Killian drunkenly muttered something which was inaudible to all but himself.

"What did yeh say, matey?" Adam growled.

"I SAID I WAS BLOODY SORRY!" Killian shouted, taking a step back.

"Well you bloody well ought to be!" Rosalie informed the drunken wizard. "And if I see you make another move on her while she's frozen…" she let the sentence trail off, leaving Killian to imagine the consequences.

"Shouldn't we unfreeze her?" Ozzy asked, motioning towards the statuesque Accordion Girl.

"I figure we should be, mind you don't mention what this fool did!" Rosalie said.

"No worries…"

Rosalie quickly performed the counter-cure, and Accordion Girl popped back to life.

"Come on people, a song!" Accordion Girl squealed.

"I agree!" Rosalie called out. "Adam, you pick the song!"

Adam stood and lifted his tankard into the air. " _Muggle on the Plank_!" He bellowed with a loud laugh. The wizard then broke into a boisterous song, clapping and singing along. After a moment of listening Ozzy and Killian joined in, playing (or attempting to, for the latter) their instruments.

" _My friends I stand before you_

 _To tell a truth most dire_

 _They lurks a traitor in our midst_

 _Who hath invoked the captain's ire_

 _He don't deserve no mercy_

 _We ought to curse him with a wand_

 _But I am not an evil man_

 _So first let's have a little fun_

 _We'll tie that scoundrel to a rope_

 _And throw 'em overboard_

 _Drag him underneath the ship_

 _A terrifying deadly trip_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that jarvey walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that jarvey walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho_

 _I will not say what he has done_

 _His sins are far too grave to tell_

 _It's not my place to judge a man_

 _But boy he'll sure burn in hell_

 _The sharks will dine upon his flesh_

 _And Scurvyteeth will have his soul_

 _Take his money and his wand_

 _He won't need them where he's gonna go_

 _But first let's tie him to a rope_

 _And throw him overboard_

 _Drag him underneath the ship_

 _A terrifying deadly trip_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that jarvey walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that jarvey walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho_

 _We'll tie that scoundrel to a rope_

 _And throw him overboard_

 _Drag him underneath the ship_

 _A terrifying deadly trip_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that git walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho_

 _Keelhaul, that filthy muggle_

 _Send him down to the depths below_

 _Make that jarvey walk the plank_

 _With a bottle of rum and a yo-ho-ho,_

 _We are wizards of the sea!"_

As the song ended, everyone turned to see Accordion Girl bent on one knee, banging her head to the music still pouring from her accordion. She ended her solo with a flourish and straightened up, a huge smile on her face. The crew roared with laughter and the air rang with applause.

"Ha! Nothing like a good ole rousing song!" Rosalie said, putting one foot up on a keg laying on its side. "A toast!" She shouted, Accordion Girl mimicking her pose on a barrel behind her. "A toast to our alma mater!"

"To Hogwarts!" The crew bellowed, raising a motley assortment of tankards into the air. There was a moment of silence as the pirates drained their flagons, broken only when the keg Accordion Girl stood on rolled out from under her, throwing her onto her back. The crowd erupted with laughter as Rosalie and Adam pulled pulled her to her feet.

"Right, isn't it time for you to be going to bed now?" Rosalie said, shaking her head.

"Ok!" Accordion Girl said cheerfully. "Night all!"

"Do yur mind if I Slytherin?" Killian slurred, staggering over to them. Ozzy cuffed him angrily, not wishing for his friend to be keelhauled.

"I'll let that one pass seeing as he is completely intoxicated." Rosalie said coolly. "Adam! Make sure these two make it down to the hold, and into separate hammocks, mind you!"

"Thank you." Ozzy whispered.

"I may be a pirate, but I do have manners," Rosalie said. "Here, come with me, there is something I want to discuss." Ozzy followed Rosalie up onto the dark quarterdeck overlooking the rest of the party. Perching herself on the railing, the stars reflecting on the sea far below them, Rosalie fixed Ozzy in her stern gaze. "Adam has already relayed to me what Killian has told him, but I think there is more to the story. What _really_ happened to the rest of your crew?"

"The part about travelling with another ship is true. Two friends of mine, Andels Watters and his sister," he grinned briefly before continuing as Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Were crew onboard the _Crimson Lightning_. The ship was named after Andel's hair!" He laughed.

"Isn't he the one that was saved by a cat?"

"Er… yes. Ramses, to be exact."

" _Your_ Ramses?" Rosalie asked incredulously.

"The one and the same."

"Huh…"

"Anyways, we travelled together until we hit a huge storm. In the chaos, we were separated. Afterwards, we were discovered - by a man known as Morcant Bowes. Heard of 'em?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Rosalie said, scratching Gypsy's chin, looking slightly forlorn. "My twin brother, Jamieson, used to be the captain of the _Stormcrow,_ and I his first mate. We had a run in with Morcant, and-" her voice broke off with a sigh. "Jimmy was killed, the _Stormcrow_ burned and the crew either drowned or taken prisoner."

Ozzy cursed under his breath.

"Yeah," Rosalie said with a soft laugh. "Happens far too often. I barely made it out with Gypsy and my wand, but somehow I managed my way back to the nearest port. There I commissioned the building of the _Night Swan_ and found my crew. So here we are."

"Quite impressive, getting away. Unfortunately I have had a similar experience…" There was a long moment of silence and suddenly Rosalie's blue eyes narrowed.

"Go back and join the party," She said with a grin. "Just mind you don't drink too much. Tomorrow we set off to find Morcant."

"Don't worry," Ozzy cracked his knuckles. "I'll be ready."

Rosalie grinned. "It may be too late for Jimmy, but maybe there is still hope for Andel and your lady friend," she said. "It's about time we deal Morcant justice."

 **Author's Note:**

 **The song here is based on Alestorm's _Keelhauled_ , changes by Frederic Axel Rorland.**


	3. Chapter 3

The trio sat under a large tree by the lake, bags sprawled about them in the grass. Harry gazed out over the sparkling loch, enjoying the warm spring breeze on his face.

"I can't believe Binns wants to write an essay on this stuff!" Ron groaned.

"It's really not that bad, Ron!" Hermione said, sounding exasperated.

"Hey Ron, if Andel really named his ship after his hair, maybe you're related!" Harry laughed.

"Shut up, Harry!" Ron said, lightly hitting his friend in the shoulder with the history textbook as the other two laughed.

"This pirate stuff is really not too bad," Harry said, flipping through the pages of his own copy of _History of Magic_. "I mean, if anyone else was teaching it that sample of pirate song would have been really funny, especially that mention of the old Headmaster."

"Well, I really like Rosalie," Hermione said haughtily. "Her skills in charms and transfiguration had to be spectacular!"

"Classic Hermione," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Always thinking about the wand work." A bunch of first years standing by the lake edge screamed and fled as the friendly giant squid splashed them with the cold water. "I wonder if the _Night Swan_ ever encountered any of those…"

…

"Right, get up lads!" Adam hollered. "There's work to be done here!" Ozzy sat sat up and stretched, pushing Ramses off his chest. Five days into their journey to find Morcant, there was not much to do. Almost everything on the _Night Swan_ was run by magic, leaving little to nothing for the crew to do. Ozzy and Killian went up onto the main deck and joined Adam at the prow, watching the swan's head bask in the sun.

"I'm surprised that you agreed to this Morcant hunt," Killian said to Adam. "You seem like a level-headed and sensible fellow."

"Well..." Adam started, not sure whether he could trust him yet or not. "The real reason my parents died out at sea is because they were on a fishing vessel when Morcant came aboard and slaughtered the lot of them. I'm not really the revenge type, but they were the only people who looked out for me at that time."

"Dayum, mate. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I've gotten over it…" There was a whirl of bright blue feathers and the group ducked as Gypsy glided over their heads and landed on Rosalie's shoulder where she stood behind them.

"You will find that most of my crew has a bone to pick with Morcant, Mr. Thames," she said, joining them. "There are not many left on the sea who don't."

"Which leads me to a question," Ozzy said. "Where are we going, and how do we find Morcant?"

"We are sailing right for the island of Octavia in the Caribbean," Rosalie said, the others following her across the deck, dodging a mop that was swabbing the deck by itself. "I know a guy there who can tell us where Morcant is."

"Captain!" Bilius shouted. "You might wanna see this." Rosalie frowned and marched over to the port side where the large Ravenclaw stood looking through a spyglass. Taking the spyglass from him, Rosalie peered out into the distance.

"Merlin's right nostril!" She swore. "Batten down the hatches! Accordion Girl, fire up the cannons!"

"CANNONS!" Accordion Girl squealed, disappearing into the chaos.

"What is it?" Adam asked.

"A terrorsquid," Rosalie answered grimly. "And it's coming our way fast, looking none too pleased."

"Nothing attacks this ship and makes it out alive!" Adam yelled as he drew his cutlass, simultaneously pulling his wand out of his pocket. He took the wand and stuck it in a hole in the bottom of the hilt where it fit snuggly.

" _Incendio_!" With that word, the blade burst with flames, and Adam gave a roar of anger as he launched into battle against the massive tentacles that burst forth from the boiling, frothing water. More great tentacles lashed around the deck, groping and coiling across the ship, almost knocking Killian overboard. At one point a tentacle wrapped around the mast threatening to crack it with its strength.

Ozzy gave a yell and pointed his sword at the tentacle and fired, sending a small lead ball hurtling into the soft, slimy flesh. Dark blue blood spurted across the deck and as the tentacle thrashed and retracted into the water. The wizard turned and ran towards another tentacle, until a resounding explosion rang out.

"Accordion Girl…" Rosalie sighed and ran off.

Killian snatched up a bottle and took a swig before drawing his pistol and firing at a tentacle which lashed close by. He took another drink, then threw the now-empty bottle at the tentacle. It shattered, raining glass across the deck and creating several lacerations on the beast.

Adam, who had been so far locked in combat with a nest of the thrashing tentacles, emerged victorious and backed out of a pile of severed tentacle tips. Meanwhile Bilius was swinging wildly at a particularly aggressive appendage while Leonardo secreamed and smacked a tentacle with a large metal pan.

The tentacles pulled back into the ocean, and for a moment they were in the calm once more.

"Is it gone?" Killian shouted angrily, for he was drenched in both water and alcohol. As if in answer the terrorsquid lurched forth, wrapping its tentacles around the boat and attempting to draw itself up. That only succeeded in making the boat tilt at a precarious angle, almost rolling it and hurling the pirates to the deck.

Suddenly, a second explosion rocked the ship, and blue blood sprayed across the wizards. Killian let loose a string of curses stumbled again, knocking his head on the mast and stunning himself. Bleeding, the terrorsquid slowly fell back into the water. A large, dark shape could be seen moving away, trailing blue in the clear water.

Accordion Girl raced up from the bowels of the ship. "DID YOU SEE THAT?! I SHOT IT!" She giggled loudly, then slipped in the blood and fell on top of the recovering Killian, thudding his head back into the mast. He groaned and slid back to the deck as Accordion Girl hauled herself up, accidentally stepping on Killian more than once.

"Well, would you look at that..." Adam snorted "Killian got paid back for that incident earlier two-fold." Ozzy and Rosalie snickered.

"Now then, let's clean this mess up! Get to work, people!" Rosalie shouted.

"Aye, Aye Captain!" Chorused the crew

"You heard the Captain!" Adam followed up. "Get to work and scrub those decks clean!"

Bilius pulled out his wand and called out a charm, while Leonard and Killian got to work scrubbing away the squid's blood by hand. Accordion Girl skipped by, pausing to watch.

"Ooh! May I try?"

"No," Adam said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Go ask the Captain if there's anything for you to do."

"Okie-dokie!"

Adam watcher her go, making sure she wasn't looking before shaking his head. "Worth more trouble than she is help, that one."

Soon they had the decks scrubbed clean of the blood. Rosalie glanced over the side of the _Night Swan_. She winced at the sight of the great trails of terrorsquid blood running down the sides. "We'll leave this slime, it'll wash off as we travel. Come on then, everyone, to the sky!"

The ship rang out with calls of " _Wingardium leviosa_!"

"Killian," Rosalie said, turning to the short Slytherin. "As our official navigator, how far do you reckon we are from Octavia?"

"As the boat flies..." he began with a wink. "I would say we shall arrive shortly before sundown."

"Well then, we have a ways to go yet," Rosalie said. "Full steam ahead, and no slacking!"

Once again there was a chorus of "Aye, Aye Captain" as the pirates set to preparing the ship for travel. Wands were raised all around and air filled the billowing sails, boosting their speed. Just then there was a loud bang as Accordion Girl attempted to bewitch a mop to swab the deck, and was thrown back into a pile of barrels.

"I'm ok!" She shouted as she floundered around, spilling newt eyes everywhere. Rosalie groaned.

"Someone go help her…" she said with a sigh. "And clean up the newt eyes…"

"On it!" Killian said with an evil grin, hurrying off before anyone could stop him.

"Adam, go keep an eye on them, will you?" Rosalie said wearily.

"Aye, I will Captain!" Adam said, storming off to see to it that Killian was not playing any games. "Not on my watch…"

"Thanks! Hey, can you play the accordion?" Accordion Girl could be heard saying.

"Well no, but I bet I could play you really well!" Killian's voice floated over, quickly silenced by Adam. Ozzy snickered and followed Rosalie across the deck as she supervised her crew.

"So, who is this guy we are going to see?" Ozzy said as they paused to watch a couple of the members play exploding snap.

"His name is Alfred Morren," she answered. "You heard of him?"

"Wait? Alfred 'Pickle'? Isn't he the pirate who was mauled by a Kappa?"

"One and the same," Rosalie said as some of the cards went up in a cloud of smoke. "If anyone knows where Morcant is, it's him."

"He's missing part of his nose, right?"

"Yep. The Kappa thought it was a cucumber and bit it off," Rosalie said in a matter-of-fact way. "He's missing a leg too, come to think of it."

"Ouch..."

"Yeah, to tell you the truth I don't think it was a very fun experience." Rosalie chortled nonetheless. The card tower that the crew had been building exploded spectacularly, frightening Gypsy from Rosalie's shoulder. The large macaw flew up to the crow's nest with an angry squawk in a whirl of cobalt feathers.

"Oi!" Rosalie cried. "What have I told you about playing exploding snap near Gypsy!" The crew laughed as Rosalie glared at them good-naturedly. "Excuse me while I go off to comfort my macaw."

"Hey Adam!" Ozzy called. "Do you play Wizard's Chess?"

"Why yes, I do!" Adam answered back.

"Up for a round 'er two?"

"Ya bet I am!" Adam challenged in return.

Ozzy smiled. "Let's have a go."

"Alright!" Adam smirked "Something we both understand!" He flicked his wand and called " _Accio_!" The chess set appeared in his free hand.

"You have your own men?" Adam asked Ozzy, who gave a curt nod and drew a small case from his coat. He flipped it open, and revealed a set of marble chessmen. Together they set their pieces up and started the match.

They were interrupted after a few intense turns by Accordion Girl skipping up. "HEY mates! Watcha up to? Who's winning?"

"Not now, please; I'm trying to concentrate." Ozzy frowned.

"Okay sorry!" She scampered off. Seconds later her voice rang out from the deck, and a blazing blue fireball raced directly overhead, almost catching Ozzy and Adam. They jumped back, cursing and shouting as their chessmen screamed and hurled themselves from the board. The two wizards looked from where the fireball originated to see Accordion Girl being pursued across the ship by Rosalie.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" She wailed, barely managing to outpace her captain.

Adam reached down and picked up one of his cowering chessmen. "Do you remember yer' position?" The little piece shook his head.

Meanwhile Ozzy was doing the same, to a similar result. He sighed. "Well, so much for that."

Adam shook his head and started collecting the little pieces, placing them back with the set. Rosalie finally caught Accordion Girl by the neck of her shirt and was chewing her out.

"What were you doing?! You almost hit both the first mate and Ozzy!"

Accordion Girl made an odd, high-pitched noise that sounded like, "Meep!"

"Don't try bluebell flames without supervision!" Rosalie snapped, and released Accordion Girl, who scampered off. The captain turned to Adam and Ozzy. "You two alright?"

"Yup, she didn't hit us or our clothes," Adam said.

"Unfortunately she gave our chessmen a good scare. A real shame, that was shapin' up to be a good game," Ozzy said, mildly annoyed.

"Don't worry, she won't be doing that for a long time…" Rosalie said darkly, yet she smiled. The other pirates laughed.

"Well, if we had been able to actually play that would've taken some time off the trip. It's gonna be a long afternoon…" Ozzy said. "Not that I'm complaining, after this morning."

Rosalie laughed again. "Hopefully we won't encounter any more of those!"

"I should certainly hope not!" Adam added.

The captain took a couple steps to the front of the ship. She drew her rapier and pointed it forwards, towards their destination. "Onwards, to 'Pickles'!"


	4. Chapter 4

Harry sat in the common room in his favorite squashy armchair by the fire. He thought of the lessons that day in History of Magic and recollected back on how Adam Ledger, famed Wizard Pirate, was not so much different than himself. They both had an Aunt and Uncle who were complete gits and they both had parents who sadly were long gone. It was oddly comforting to know that there were others out there like him.

"Hermione!" Ron said angrily, pushing a first year out of the seat next to Harry. "If you don't keep that bloody cat away from Scabbers, I will transfigure it into a big, furry, orange hat!"

"Oh come on, Ron," Hermione said, taking the last armchair, Crookshanks in her lap. "I have told you a million times, he can't help it. It's in his nature. Right Crookshanks?" Hermione cooed to the cat who purred contentedly.

"There is nothing 'natural' about that cat," Ron muttered to Harry so Hermione could not hear. "I'm a bloody animagus if Crookshanks doesn't have it in for Scabbers." Harry snorted.

"Come on, we need to finish our research on those pirates. And remember, Ron, Ozzy had a cat too."

"I doubt Ramses was as off as Crookshanks…"

…

Ozzy lazed in the sun next to Ramses as Killian paced back and forth.

"Aw, come on!" He grumbled. "I want some excitement!" Ozzy gave him a weird look.

"Dunno about you, but I've still had enough 'excitement' from this morning." Ozzy said.

"Maybe I should be more specific," Killian grumped. "I want some entertainment! Accordion Girl ruined wizard's chess for us, not that _I_ mind, and Rosalie stopped exploding snap because it frightened her bird."

"Hey, I heard that!" Rosalie barked from the quarterdeck above. Ozzy grinned.

"Ears of a hawk, that one."

"Eyes too," Rosalie said, jumping down onto the main deck with a glare at Killian. "Anything that distresses my bird is bad in my book. Gypsy is family to me." Hearing her name, the magnificent macaw flew onto Rosalie's arm from the ship railing, whistling 'Wizards of the Sea' as she carefully tucked a piece of flyaway hair behind Rosalie's ear with her beak. "Ha, thanks Gypsy." Rosalie said, stroking the bright feathers of her beloved bird.

"Still, we have several hours before we reach Octavia, and with Accordion Girl taking her nap, nothing interesting is going on!" Killian griped.

"Alrighty then," Rosalie said. "Adam! The crew wants a show! How about we give them one?" The crew cheered and gathered around, stomping excitedly.

"Well then, let's give them a show worth watching then, ay?" Adam challenged.

"Ha!" Rosalie laughed, Gypsy fluttering back to the railing. "Rapier or cutlass?"

"Rapier." Adam responded, pulling out his own in turn.

"Very well then," Rosalie said, drawing her own sapphire hilted blade. "You know the rules; no fire, no magic, and no maiming."

"So the usual then?" Adam said with a smirk.

"You got it!" Rosalie replied with a grin.

"So," began Adam. "Why don't we get this started?"

"Why don't we?" With that she launched herself at Adam who raised his sword with ease to block her blade. He parried and struck with force at Rosalie who in turn parried and swiped downward, almost getting within his guard. Her fellow wizard quickly blocked it and stabbed at Rosalie who blocked in turn and cut up with her sword.

Adam parried her cut, then stabbed again towards Rosalie's shoulder. She deflected his attack to the side, then performed an aggressive thrust of her own. Her friend send his blade crashing into hers, but was blocked as she performed an elegant whirl and struck towards him. Adam barely managed to recovered before she pressed the attack, sending him to the ground. With a flourish, Rosalie placed the tip of her rapier on his chest.

"Over!" Rosalie laughed.

"Good match!" Adam replied as his captain helped him up. The rest of the crew applauded loudly as the two duelists bowed.

"Excellent, I might have to challenge both of you sometime," Ozzy grinned. "Adam first, though."

"Always a good spectacle." Bilius said, while Leonard nodded and munched on a biscuit.

Ozzy stepped over to Rosalie. "Have you got anything that floats and makes a good target? And that yeh don't mind losing?"

Rosalie thought for a moment. "Actually, yes, we do. Bilius! Go fetch those round buoys we found!"

"Aye!" The Ravenclaw disappeared below decks, only to reappear in a couple minutes carrying a crate full of large red balls.

"What do you want to do with these?" Rosalie asked, looking from the crate to Ozzy, who was smiling.

"Anyone up for a shootin' contest?" He called, unbuckling the lock for his sword.

"Sure." Killian said as he stepped forwards.

"Why not." Bilius shrugged.

"Wonderful!" Ozzy exclaimed. "Throw three of these out, we'll go out a ways and take our shots. Don't let the swan get them."

The pirates did as the wizard suggested, and with three calls of " _Locomotor_!" the buoys slowly floated away from the _Night Swan_. Rosalie stepped back behind Ozzy, Killian and Bilius, who stood at the side of the ship armed with various forms of flintlocks.

"Load!" She called, and the three pirates did. "Aim!"

Ozzy raised his sword while Killian and Bilius aimed down their iron sights.

"FIRE!" Three shots rang out. When the smoke cleared, Rosalie drew her spyglass and gazed out at the targets. "Congratulations, Oswald, you're dead center. Bilius, you're second, and Killian, work on your aim." The crew howled with laughter as they clapped the competitors on the back.

"Captain!" A crewman by the name of Willet suddenly shouted. "You might wanna see this!" Rosalie frowned and marched over to the other side of the ship.

"Oh bloody hell!" She swore. "It's another ship!" The crew all turned and ran to the port side of the ship, looking at the fast approaching vessel apprehensively.

"Do you think it's another wizard's ship?" Adam asked, peering at the boat.

"Can't tell from here." Rosalie said. "Alright! Wands away, we are going to assume they are muggles. Hold your fire." The crew rushed around, hurriedly stowing away all signs of magic while Rosalie stilled the spell that animated the prow. The other ship, fairly standard in appearance pulled up alongside them.

"Ahoy there!" Another voice called out. "Where be you goin' on this fine day?"

"Our destination is of no concern," Rosalie called out to the other captain. "I could ask you the same."

"Do you know of the Hallows?" The captain called to Rosalie.

"Aye," che called back, relaxing immediately. "The wand, the cloak and the stone."

"Ah! Might I inquire the name of your ship?"

"I am Captain Rosalie, and this is the _Night Swan_."  
"And would you be headed for Octavia?"

"Indeed we are," Rosalie answered. "Can you tell us if Alfred is in?"

"Aye, he is," The other called back. "We just left port this afternoon. Tell him that you ran into Dorian!"

"Will do!" Rosalie cried as other ship pulled away. "Full steam ahead!" The crew immediately went back to work, magic and all. Just then, Accordion Girl appeared from the depths of the ship.

"Hey guys!" She cried cheerfully. "What did I miss?"

"We just ran into another ship," Killian said. "And I'm glad to run into you." Accordion Girl grinned obliviously.

"Oh, really? Did you make lunch?" She said excitedly. "Hey, Rosalie, you want some lunch?" Accordion Girl asked, skipping over towards Rosalie. "Killian made it!"

"We already had lunch," Rosalie said, confusedly. As Accordion Girl skipped across the deck, her wand fell from her pocket, causing the excitable Hufflepuff to slip.

"Oi! Watch out!" Ozzy cried, moments too late.

"What?" Rosalie said, turning just in time to see Accordion Girl come flying at her. "Aaaaaaahhh!" Rosalie tumbled over the railing of the ship and into the sea with a yelp.

"Woman overboard!" Killian shouted as the rest of the crew came running. Ozzy leaned over the rail, looking down into the foamy blue water. Moments later, Rosalie resurfaced, sputtering angrily.

"MERLIN'S BEARD, ACCORDION GIRL!" She hollered, spitting out sea water. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, WILL YOU!"

Accordion Girl looked like she was going to cry. Adam pulled out his wand and conjured a lifesaver out of thin air. He threw it to Rosalie, who was treading water and glaring daggers. Between the two of them, Bilius and Adam had her back onboard in a jiffy.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Accordion Girl whimpered as Rosalie sat on a barrel, pouring water out of her boots. Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"It's alright," she said, sounding exasperated. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her sopping clothes, blasting them with hot air. "'Bout time I took a bath. Just next time make sure I am out of the way before you decide to blunder around."

"Really?" Accordion Girl grinned. "I still feel bad though, why don't I help you dry out your clothes?"

"No!" Rosalie said quickly, sounding rather panicked. "Why don't you go and peel some potatoes."

"Okie-dokie!" Accordion Girl said, skipping away.

"Phew, that was a close call," Rosalie said once she had disappeared from view. "She probably would have set me on fire or something."

"You think?" Ozzy rolled his eyes. "She's the cheeriest terror I've ever met."

"Right, well I'm going up to the crow's nest before I get knocked overboard again," Rosalie said, standing up. "Adam, you're in charge." She sauntered off and Ozzy looked at Adam.

"Why are we keeping Accordion Girl again?"

"Who knows…"

"Who cares!" Killian interjected. "She makes wonderful eye candy!" Ozzy cuffed Killian good-naturedly and went back to work.

Several hours later, the sky had grown mostly dark and the white stars had come out, the waves reflecting their light. The sky in the west had settled into a coral pink color with several cays silhouetted in the fading light.

"Land ho!" Rosalie cried from above, peering at the tiny islands ahead through her spyglass. "Oi, Ozzy, catch!"

Ozzy looked up in surprise and held out his arms just in time to catch Rosalie.

"Ha!" She laughed, jumping onto the deck. "That was like some crazy trust fall!" Killian and Adam chortled as Rosalie rounded up the crew. "Alright, lads!" She cried. "Octavia is ahead and you are free to spend the night as you wish!" The crew cheered enthusiastically at this. "Just make sure you control yourselves and are back on the _Night Swan_ by sun up, I want no intoxicated sailors tagging along while we hunt down Morcant!" The crew laughed and started to guide the _Night Swan_ into the harbor.

"Have you been here before?" Ozzy asked, looking at the yellow lamplight spilling out over the water.

"Of course, have you?" Rosalie answered. Ozzy shook his head.

"Nope," Killian said. "Any good pubs on Octavia?" Rosalie laughed, a pretty sound.

"You bet there are!" She said. "Stick with me, and when we meet Alfred you will get the finest ale Octavia has to offer."

"Deal!" Killian answered eagerly.

" _Raaak_!" Gypsy squawked. "Good ale!"

"Ooh, may I go? Please? Please?" Accordion Girl bounced up and down.

"Yes, you can." Rosalie smiled.

"Yay!"

The crew successfully docked the _Night Swan_ and marched across the docks, the animated prow watching them go fondly. Rosalie expertly lead Adam, Ozzy, Killian and Accordion Girl through the dark and magical winding streets past many lesser pubs, stopping in front of a well maintained establishment.

A signboard depicting a palm tree bore in white scrolling letters; _The Eighth Child._ Rocious laughter came from the pub, accompanied by a hearty drinking tune. A drunken sailor staggered out with his tankard singing horribly off key.

" _The wand of our captain is pointing at you…_ " His voice faded away as he disappeared off down the dark street.

"Right," Rosalie said cheerfully. "Ready to meet Alfred 'Pickle' Morren?"

"Lead the way." Ozzy said, bowing with a flourish. The group strode into the bar and Rosalie marched straight up to the bartender.

"Is Alfred in? We wish to speak with him."

"Who should I tell him is asking?"

"Tell him Rosalie Fawcett is here."

"Alright," The man said slowly. "Just wait here for a minute." He vanished through a door leading to the back. Adam ordered everyone drinks as the band took song requests.

"Witches and Mead!" Someone shouted. "Witches and Mead!"

"Ha, this is a good one!" Rosalie said, leaning back in her chair. The band started to play, and bar goers began to sing.

" _When I come back from a mighty quest_

 _I have no need for sleep or rest_

 _I head to a tavern for a drink_

 _And get so drunk I cannot think_

 _A witch by my side and a jug of mead_

 _These are the things that I most need_

 _So I sit back and sing this song_

 _And drink and spellcast all night long_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _I wanna meet witches_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _Witches and mead_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _I wanna meet witches_

 _Witches and mead are what I need_

 _When I come back from a mighty quest_

 _I have no need for sleep or rest_

 _I head to a tavern for a drink_

 _And get so drunk I cannot think_

 _A witch by my side and a jug of mead_

 _These are the things that I most need_

 _So I sit back and sing this song_

 _And drink and spellcast all night long_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _I wanna meet witches_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _Witches and mead_

 _Hey! Hey!_

 _I wanna meet witches_

 _Witches and mead are what I need!_ "

The song ended amid the cheers, and a gnarled, older man came in through a back door. Rosalie caught sight of him and stood with a wave as the peg leg hobbled over.

"Aw, well if it ain't the Rose of the Sea!" He cried, taking Rosalie's hand and kissing it. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Al, an old charmer as always!" Rosalie laughed. "I am afraid a dark matter has brought me here, old friend. Do you mind if we discuss this elsewhere?"

"Oh, not at all," Alfred said. "And your friends are quite welcome to joins us! Come along now, I've got plenty of ale for all!"

"Wonderful!" Killian exclaimed. "What are we waiting for?"

 **Author's Note:**

 **The song here is based on Alestorm's** ** _Wenches and Mead_** **, changes by Frederic Axel Rorland.**


	5. Chapter 5

"What's a Kappa anyway?" Ron asked, peering down at his textbook. Hermione sighed.

"It's a scaled creature resembling an aquatic monkey. They live in bodies of water and like to eat cucumbers." Harry, Ron and Hermione were some of the last students in the common room.

"Like you, Ron." Harry quipped.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Ron said. "Just what I don't get is why he is called 'Pickles'."

"It says right here that he mistakenly threw a Kappa a pickle instead of a cucumber, and that's why it attacked." Harry said, reading off of page three hundred and twenty two.

"Geez, sounds like something Hagrid would want." Ron said with a grin.

"Yeah, wouldn't that make an interesting class…"

"Don't even go there…" Hermione threatened, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. "We do not want him getting one of those…"

"Well, at least it wouldn't be another Gilderoy Lockhart pixie incident…"

"This Morcant guy though, do you think they will be able to defeat him?" Harry said, turning the pages in the textbook thoughtfully. "How powerful of a dark wizard is he?" Hermione frowned.

"Here it says that he was actually a very powerful wizard," Hermione said. "Oh, look! His wand was made of Gopher Wood with a blackdragon whisker core!"

"What in the name of Merlin's pants does that mean?" Ron scoffed.

"Oh, come on, Ronald!" Hermione said, sounding mildly irritated. "Do you ever read? Gopher Wood is a notoriously powerful wand wood, but it tends to backfire when the wizard is frustrated. That means that Morcant was very powerful and all together dangerous."

"Do they win?" Ron said, trying to pry the book from her hands.

"I'm not telling you!" She said, snapping the book shut.

"She's right, Ron," Harry laughed. "We will have to wait for class tomorrow."

"If I stay awake long enough to hear the end of it…"

…

"So, what can I do for you?" Alfred asked, passing out tankards of his fine ale.

"We were wondering if you know what section of the seas Morcant Bowes is haunting currently," Rosalie said grimly. Alfred nearly choked on his drink.

"Whatcha doing looking for 'im?" He asked, wiping his grey beard. Rosalie sighed.

"Well, you remember what happened to Jimmy," she said sadly. "And we recently got two new crew members whose friends were captured. We are looking to rescue them, if they are still alive, and give Morcant some well deserved justice."

"Drop the hammer, you might say." Ozzy added.

"I always said you were going to get into big trouble one day, Rose," Alfred said, rubbing his temples. "Didn't I? And all this time I thought it would come knocking on your door, but here you are chasing it down like a corsair. I thought you had more sense than that, lassie."

"Come on, Al!" Rosalie cried. "You did equally crazy things back in the day!"

"Aye," he said solemnly. "An' that's how you lose limbs like me, or worse. Don't throw your life away, lassie."

"I am a lot more advanced in magic than you think," Rosalie said. "And we are going to hunt him down one way or another. Will you help us?" Alfred sighed.

"Alright, alright," He said, holding up his hands in a defeated sort of way. "I suppose it's the best way to ensure that you lot don't end up as crab bait."

"That's the spirit!" Adam chuckled.

"So where is he?" Rosalie asked. Accordion Girl turned her empty tankard upside down and shook it, but no one paid any attention. She slowly slid her hand towards Ozzy's tankard and snatched it without notice.

"He's actually not too far from here," Alfred said grimly. "His ship, the _Day Hawk_ , was spotted fortytwo nautical miles down at a series of kays called Wizard Point." Accordion Girl set aside Ozzy's tankard and cautiously reached for Killian's.

"Wonderful," Rosalie said, sliding her drink out of the way so that she could cross her arms on the table. "Should be no more than a day or so travels from here." As she spoke, Accordion girl finished Killian's ale and snatched up Adam's. She giggled under her breath in a loopy sort of way. Ozzy gripped the edge of the table hard.

"Do you think there will be any hope for my friends?" He asked, seriously, staring intently at the gnarled old pirate. Accordion Girl slowly edged her way closer to Rosalie's mug.

"They'll be on his ship if they're alive," Alfred said. "Hope is all you've got now."

Gypsy gave a tuneful whistle from Rosalie's shoulder. "Hope is where the heart is. _Raaaack_!"

Alfred burst into laughter. "That's one smart bird that you've got there, Rose!" He chortled.

"I did not teach her that!" Rosalie said in surprise. "That sounds like some ridiculous thing Accordion Girl would say." There was a drunken hiccup and everyone turned to her at last.

"Hey, I wanna meet witches!" Accordion Girl warbled, swaying back and forth. "To Hogwarts we'll go…" She hiccuped again. "Wizards of the Sea!"

"What the…" Rosalie's voice trailed off. "What's gotten into her?"

"Oh, bloody hell!" Killian swore. "She's gone and drank my ale!"

"And mine…" Ozzy added, glancing at his tankard, which had somehow moved closer to Accordion Girl and been emptied without his notice.

"For the love of Gryffindor!" Adam grumbled, wrestling what had been Rosalie's tankard away from her. "Who was supposed to be watching her?"

"Not me!" Ozzy said, spreading his hands. Rosalie sighed.

"Sorry Al, but we should be getting her back to the ship." Rosalie said. "One last thing, are you with us?"

"Ach!" Alfred sighed regretfully. "I am sorry, lassie. I've had enough struggle with Morcant to last me a lifetime. I'm too old for this. You're on your own, Rose. Good luck."

"Thanks anyway, Al," Rosalie said, shaking his hand. "It was nice to see you again. Alright, Adam, Ozzy, you two can get Accordion Girl."

"Oh, joy." Ozzy sighed.

"I can do it for you!" Killian said eagerly.

"NO!" Rosalie snapped.

"It was just an idea…"

"Still no."

Ozzy and Adam each threw one of Accordion Girl's arms around their necks and hauled her to her feet. She made cooing sounds and her head lolled gently.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggitty Wortty Hogwarts…" She trilled drunkenly.

"Alright, I suppose this is farewell then," Alfred said, escorting them out the door of _The Eighth Child._ "Good luck ter you all."

"Thank you for everything, Al." Rosalie said as they turned to leave.

"Ach, don't mention it, lassie," Alfred said with a faint smile. "Stay safe, will ya?" Rosalie waved and followed her companions back out into the dark street. Accordion Girl continued to mumble as she was carried.

"Why yes, I'd like a squid sandwich…"

Adam and Ozzy exchanged a confused and mildly disturbed glance. Adam mouthed "Squid sandwich?" to his friend, who shrugged as best he could.

"Right," Rosalie said tersely. "Note to self, never let Accordion Girl alone and unsupervised when Al's ale is near at hand."

"Hey…" Killian said. "I don't mind her like this…" Rosalie shot him a glare.

"Just because we are not on the _Night Swan_ , it doesn't mean I still won't ditch you here."

"Right. I'll shut up now."

"Good choice," Rosalie said as Adam and Ozzy hauled Accordion Girl up the gangplank. After depositing her on a hammock in the hold, the group reconvened on the main deck. "So," Rosalie started, waving her wand and conjuring a lamp as she spoke. "What do you think will be the best way to sneak up on Morcant?"

"Cannons…" Accordion Girl's slurred voice floated up through the deck planks.

"No cannons," Rosalie answered automatically. Ozzy smirked. "That's how everyone dies when approaching Morcant. This has to be stealthy if we want to make it out with our skins intact."

"Disillusionment charm?" Adam suggested. "That way he wouldn't see the the _Night Swan_ coming."

"Huh," Rosalie said thoughtfully. "That should do it."

"When do we set out?" Killian asked.

"In the morning," Rosalie said. "But when we find Morcant, this must be handled with tact. If we use cannons, we risk killing Ozzy's friends."

"We'll have to brief Accordion Girl on that… multiple times…" Adam said. "Maybe stun her to be safe…" Rosalie snorted.

"Anyway, I'll volunteer to challenge Morcant to a one on one duel with the winner taking Ozzy's friends. Then we can duke it out with the cannons."

"Do you think you can take on Morcant?" Ozzy asked incredulously. "What if you're killed?"

"I fought with him and escaped once before," Rosalie answered darkly. "And I'll do it again, even if I die trying."

"Alright," Ozzy said. "Just don't die, that could be problematic for my friends."

"I will try not to," Rosalie said grimly. "If anything goes wrong, Adam is in charge, and high tail it out of there, you hear?"

"Aye, aye, Captain." Came the grim reply. Long into the night they discussed their strategy, working out the kinks and smoothing down the back up plans. The moon was high in the dark sky ere the pirates went below for the night, agreeing that what they had come up with would be the most likely plan to succeed.

They woke with the dawn the next morning and the crew quickly came flocking back to the ship. Accordion Girl woke with a throbbing headache and had to be fed breakfast in bed, but she quickly perked up. They set sail from the harbor, looking back at pleasant Octavia, wondering if they would ever see its sandy shores again. A grim mood overtook the crew, and there was no cheerful music.

The day seemed to drag on as the _Night Swan_ crossed miles of ocean. Even Accordion Girl was quieter than normal, though she still pestered Rosalie, Adam and Ozzy. Too soon it seemed, Wizard Point loomed ahead, the cays dark and tangled, nothing like the inviting paradise of Octavia.

"Right crew," Rosalie said grimly. "This is it. Morcant is in there somewhere. Now remember, it is essential to remain quiet until I give the signal. To your positions everyone." The crew marched off to their positions, except for Accordion Girl who had already been instructed to stay below and guard the galley, so she was out of the way. All around, the wizards gave their wands a flick and the _Night Swan_ and everything aboard slowly faded into the background like one giant chameleon. Soundlessly, they slipped into Wizard Point.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry's elbow slid off the desk and he awoke with a start. _Wait, did something bad just happen?_ He thought groggily. Hermione had given an audible gasp and was now sitting at the edge of her seat. He was not the only one who had been awoken by her cry, both Neville and Parvati were sitting up and looking about in confusion. Ron, however, was still out for the count.

"Hermione, what just happened?" Dean whispered, trying to get caught up on events.

"Shhhhhhh!" Hermione shushed him irritably.

"A running battle then ensued between the _Night Swan_ and the _Day Hawk_ as the former made to retreat…" Binns droned on in monotone. Harry sighed and propped his head up with his hand again, sincerely regretting that they did not have someone else teaching this class. All around him, classmates did the same, sinking back into a stupor.

 _Pity_ , Harry thought. _I'm going to miss the ending..._

…

"Hold them off for as long as it takes for Ozzy to get Rosalie back, then get us out of here." Adam snapped, his eyes still glued onto the _Day Hawk_.

"Aye!" Bilius replied. "Accordion Girl, get your tail down below decks and ready the cannons!"

"Yeppers!" Accordion Girl shouted. "They'll regret ever taking on Captain Rosalie and the _Night Swan_!" Spells whizzed overhead as the wizards exchanged fire. Bilius was hit by a tickling curse and doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. The crew of the _Day Hawk_ rushed about, wheeling four large cannons onto the main deck while the magical prow of the Night Swan snapped at them.

"Fire at will!" Morcant howled, spittle flying through the air.

" _Protego totalum!_ " Adam hollered just in time. The air rippled about the _Night Swan_ , the appearance was something similar to a heat wave, and Morcant's cannon balls bounced away from the ship.

"Adam!" Killian bellowed over the cacophony of spells and cannonballs hitting the shield around the Night Swan. "We've gotta get outta here!"

"Not without Ozzy and the captain!" Adam answered. The entire ship shook as the shield began to weaken.

"We can't hold out much longer!" Killian protested. "Ozzy can handle himself, Rosalie too if she is alive! She ordered us to get out if this blew up in our faces, and it has! She would not want us to be killed like this!" Adam's resolve crumbled as the shield shuttered again.

"We need to go!" Willet shouted as another barrage struck the shield.

Adam looked over the side one more time, then turned to the rest of the crew. "We're leaving." Willet gave a curt nod and Killian sighed in relief. "Hoist those sails!" All around, the crew got to work and Adam turned to look at the other ship. With a flick of his wand, the swan prow stopped tugging at the _Day Hawk_ 's mast and the carved wings that were normally tucked along the side of the ship raised up to shield the main deck.

With multiple shouts of " _Wingardium leviosa_!", the _Night Swan_ rose into the air and slowly maneuvered away, the _Day Hawk_ in hot pursuit. A cannon ball hurled past Killian's head and he threw himself to the deck with a string of curses.

"Where is Accordion Girl?" Adam bellowed. "What is taking her so long?" There was a crash of wood on wood as the shutters flew open and Accordion Girl stuck her head out of a gunport.

"Mor _can't_ catch us!" She howled gleefully at the _Day Hawk_. She disappeared back inside and her taunts were quickly replaced by a cannonball. It ripped through the mainsail with a crash, rocking the _Day Hawk_ in the water. Accordion Girl squealed loudly. " _SQUEEEEEE_! I HIT THEM!"

As the _Night Swan_ took to the sky, the _Day Hawk_ released one last volley of cannonballs and spells. The shield thudded under the impact for one last time before the ship escaped range. Finally the protective spell dissipated from around the _Night Swan_ and the ship sailed up into the clouds.

"All right, we're safe." Adam said. Killian picked himself up off the deck where he had been cowering.

"Phew. Now what?" He asked, brushing himself off.

"We do our best to find the Captain and Ozzy."

"How? You saw it, or didn't, they never resurfaced."

Adam gave a tight smile. "But we have the Captain's macaw." He turned to the bird, which was staring at him. "Go find Rosalie!"

" _Squack_!" Gypsy took off in a rush of cobalt wings.

"If they are out there, Gypsy will find 'em."

…

The water closed over Ozzy's head with a crash. The salt water stung at his eyes, but he kept them open nonetheless. Through the stained waters he spotted Rosalie's limp form floating like a ragdoll not far below, her wand still tightly clutched in her hand. He swam towards her as fast as he could, as she drifted, and gingerly plucked the wand from Rosalie as he lifted her to the surface.

The moment their heads broke through the surface, Rosalie immediately became reanimated. She coughed and spluttered for a moment before recovering her clarity.

"Ozzy!" She hacked ungracefully. "What in tarnation are you doing here?"

"Saving your wand!" He looked about frantically, but they had drifted away from the _Night Swan_ , which was trading fire with the _Day Hawk_. "Merlin's beard, we're too far to board the ship!" He was starting to struggle to keep both himself and Rosalie afloat.

"Then disapparate!" Rosalie howled.

"Where?"

"ANYWHERE DRY!" She coughed again.

"Alright!" Ozzy snapped his eyes shut and he and Rosalie felt as if they were being drug through a dark tunnel before being deposited on a dry beach. Rosalie fell backwards and sprawled in the sand while Ozzy pulled himself up and sat next to her, gazing out over the ocean.

"Where exactly are we?" Rosalie asked slowly. Ozzy grimaced.

"To be honest, I don't know for sure."

"You can't be serious."

"I think we are on one of the islands, but..."

"Well, we can figure that out later. Do you know any half-decent healing spells?"

"What?" Ozzy said, turning to Rosalie. "Oh blast…" Rosalie was twisted around, examining a large gash in her side. The bullet, while it had only grazed her, had scooped out a large chunk of flesh and her blood was trickling down into the sand.

"Well, that sure is going to leave a scar…" Rosalie winced.

"Here, I do know one spell," Ozzy said, kneeling down beside her. "It should work."

"Should work?" Rosalie squawked in protest. "What do you mean 'should work'?" But Ozzy had already pointed his wand to the wound and began a song like chant. Rosalie grimaced.

" _Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur_." The blood stopped trickling with the first words, then the wound itself began to heal with the repetitions.

"Huh," Rosalie said, looking at the scar which was all that was left of the wound. "Thanks, healing spells were the only ones I was never good at."

"You're welcome. I've only used that once before…" Ozzy said. "Oh, here is your wand."

"Thanks. Now, give me a second to clean up." Rosalie aimed her wand. " _Reparo!_ " Her shirt knit itself back together. " _Scourgify!_ " All the blood stains faded away, and she leapt to her feet.

"Right, now what?" Ozzy said, gazing out at the open waters for the _Night Swan_. Both ships, however, were nowhere in sight.

"If they managed to get away, they would have taken to the sky," Rosalie said, looking up grimly. "And with this cloud cover, they could be anywhere."

"Yeah…" Ozzy trailed off for a moment, watching the ocean.

"Here, let me send them a message so they know we are alive." Rosalie pulled out her wand and gave it a wave. " _Expecto Patronum!_ " A silver shining vapor came from the tip of her wand and condensed into a large swan. It soared about their heads twice before taking off into the clouds.

"You can do a Patronus?" Ozzy said, sounding impressed. "Not every witch and wizard can do that." Rosalie grinned.

"Thanks. Can you perform a Patronus?"

"Yes, a nautilus."

"Really? Well I think Adam's is a Great White shark. Personally I'm fine with the swan, they are such elegant creatures, but they can be dangerous if provoked. That's why my ship is built the way it is."

"I like the nautilus, myself, though a sea urchin wouldn't be too bad. I know a guy with a mouse of all things."

Rosalie snorted. "Did you know that I was so good with my spellwork that I was offered a position at Hogwarts as a professor?"

"No, impressive!"

"Yeah," Rosalie laughed. "I could never follow the rules though, I almost got expelled sixth year for wrestling the lake squid."

"That's generally what happens when one does something like that," Ozzy chortled. "So what should we do now?"

"Get off this beach, first of all. Maybe someone more helpful than Morcant lives around here."

"Well, I don't live here, but I'd like to think I'm more helpful than Morcant Bowes of all people." A voice said, followed by a harsh " _Squawk_!" Ozzy and Rosalie almost jumped out of their skins and whirled to face the voice, wands out. Rosalie broke into a grin and laughed, while Ozzy relaxed.

Standing in front of them was Alfred, peg leg and all, smiling with Gypsy perched on his shoulder. Gypsy launched off and landed on Rosalie in turn.

"Alfred! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Followin' that crazy bird of yours. I decided to come after ye but couldn't catch up in time. Saw the fireworks from here, and given that yer soppin' wet I assume you lost."

Rosalie winced. "Not entirely true - I won by the rules, lost by Morcant's anger."

"Cheated, did he? Well anyways, so then yer bird showed up and started flying rings and squawking at me. I figured I'd better follow 'er. Led me right to you."

"Good work, Gypsy!" Rosalie said, stroking the bird's bright feathers.

"Right, right, now if you two follow me, we can get aboard my ship and start looking for yours." Alfred said, marching off down the beach.

"Lead on!" Ozzy cheered.

…

"WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THAT BLOODY BIRD?" Adam roared. The _Night Swan_ had stalled out inside a cloud, and the crew was unable to see a thing. Accordion Girl sheepishly raised her hand as Adam glared at her. "When I said, 'Someone keep an eye on that macaw', I did not mean Accordion Girl." He sighed as Accordion Girl stared at her feet. "There goes my plan of following Gypsy to Ozzy and Rosalie."

"So what now?" Killian asked lethargically. "Everything that could have gone wrong has; Morcant shot Rosalie, who now is probably dead, Ozzy is lost looking for her, Morcant kicked our wands, and now we are lost in a cloud."

"Well, Gypsy could come back yet…" Adam said, rubbing his temples.

"BIRD!" Accordion Girl hollered, pointing frantically over the side of the ship. Everyone rushed over and peered through the darkening cloud, and sure enough, a large bird was coming towards them, but it was no macaw.

The swan was encased in a silvery glow, clearly no ordinary creature, and not even a real bird at all. It landed on the gracefully on the deck, folding its misty wings behind its back. Its beak opened and promptly spoke in Rosalie's voice.

" _We are safe, somewhere on an island. Be wary, Morcant may still be lurking about."_ The Patronus dissolved into nothingness, having delivered its message.

"They're alive!" Adam shouted, leading the crew into a series of cheers.

"Now we fly over every island we pass until we find them?" Killian asked. "I mean, this is certainly great luck, but which island?"

"Let's just start by landing, shall we?" Adam said, greatly cheered by the Patronus. With the wave of half a dozen wands, the _Night Swan_ gracefully began her descent. The ship touched down into the water just as the sun began to set. Weaving between the cays, the crew diligently searched the shore of every island to no avail. Just as they rounded one of the tiny islands, a dark ship came into view.

"Wait!" Killian protested as they sailed on. "What if that's Morcant?" Adam frowned as he peered out at the vessel; with golden light spilling out across the water it did not look very dangerous.

"If it is," Adam growled. "We'll blow him to bits!"

"Yeah, and that worked out so well last time." Killian grumbled. Just then a faraway voice echoed across the dark waters with a cry of " _Verdimillious_ ", and a shower of green sparks erupted over the unknown ship.

"Ooooh! Pretty! I like sparklers!" Accordion Girl cried and clapped her hands.

"Well, if that is Morcant, then I'm a merperson," Adam said resolutely. "No one on his ship would bother to send up warning sparks." They slowly steered the _Night Swan_ ever closer to the mystery ship, and had just gotten close enough to read the name of the vessel, the _Midnight Pickle_ , when a voice called out to them.

"Well, what do we got here?" A familiar, rough masculine voice sounded as the _Night Swan_ anchored next to the ship. "An' what are you good folks doing out in these shark infested waters?" There was a slight thump of a peg leg and Alfred appeared at the railing with a grin.

"Alfred!" Adam cried as the crew set up a gangplank to board the _Midnight Pickle_. "What are you doin' out here?"

"Morcant huntin', along with some friends of yours." Adam, Killian, Accordion Girl and the rest of the crew stepped onto the deck of Midnight Pickle to find Rosalie and Ozzy waiting for them.

"Rosalie!" Adam cried, looking quite relieved.

"Ozzy!" Killian shouted.

"ROSALIE!" Accordion Girl screamed, knocking Killian and Adam over as she barreled forward. She dove through the air and wrapped her arms around Rosalie's neck before bursting into tears. Ozzy barely managed to avoid being ran over, but tripped and fell to the deck anyways as Rosalie tried to squirm out of her grip.

Accordion Girl's bawling resounded through the air as everyone stared speechless. Rosalie awkwardly put one hand on her back as she cried into the captain's shoulder, small rivers of tears rolling downwards. Adam helped Killian up and Ozzy was sitting on the deck watching the odd scene.

" _OhCaptainRosalieIwassoworriedaboutyouandI'msogladyou'realiveandIlosttrakcofyourbirdandI'msorryand_..." Accordion Girl babbled, her voice muffled by Rosalie's shoulder. Rosalie sent a worried look Adam's direction and gently patted Accordion Girl, who's sobbing slowed down. Finally Accordion Girl started wiping her eyes and sniffing.

"It's okay, everyone is fine." Rosalie said softly, an exasperated look on her face. Accordion Girl nodded and took a step back. She looked Rosalie in the face, then launched into tears again and bolted back to the _Night Swan_.

"What was that about…?" Ozzy asked.

"I don't know. I just don't know," Rosalie said, gazing back at her ship. "But I'm even more soaked than when she knocked me overboard." She drew her wand and dried her shirt before turning to Adam and Killian. "So what happened while Ozzy and I were away?"

"We hauled wand out of there," Killian said. "Good 'ol Accordion Girl," he rolled his eyes. "put a nice cannonball through Morcant's sail."

"Wonderful!" Ozzy laughed.

"What about you two? We waited for as long as we could before we had to run. Later Accordion Girl lost track of Gypsy, then your Patronus appeared."

"After Morcant shot me," Rosalie's eyes blazed, "and Ozzy came after me, we disapperated and ended up on some little island. We cleaned up my wound, then who but Alfred here popped up and offered a ride."

Alfred gave an exaggerated bow. "My pleasure, lassie. Anytime."

"So what do we do now?" Killian asked. "Chase Morcant down and sink his bloody ship?"

"I like that idea, although we should _probably_ rescue my friends first," Ozzy added. "Next time maybe we should be a little less formal, perhaps?"

"Sneak aboard?" Rosalie frowned slightly.

"If y'all could distract 'em I could get aboard and get my friends out."

"It'll be hard getting in that close." Adam said. "They'll know the _Night Swan_."

"Then you take my ship's boat in, and use that fancy flyin' swan of yours to distract the scum." Alfred grinned, motioning towards a small boat roped to the side of the _Midnight Pickle_.

"That could work…" Rosalie nodded.

Accordion Girl's head burst out of a gun port, her eyes still red but her typical grin plastered across her face. "We're going after Morcant, cause MorCAN'T beat us?"

Adam sighed loudly. "Merlin's beard, the puns… I almost feel sorry for Morcant with that name… actually I don't."

Rosalie looked across the ships to Accordion Girl's eager face. "Oh, yes we are."

"YAY!" Accordion Girl pumped her fist and retreated back into the ship with a _thud_ and an "Ouch!" Everyone on the _Midnight Pickle_ laughed.

Ozzy smiled. "So when do we go?"


	7. Chapter 7

Harry's elbow slid off the desk and he awoke with a start. _Wait, did something bad just happen?_ He thought groggily. Hermione had given an audible gasp and was now sitting at the edge of her seat. He was not the only one who had been awoken by her cry, both Neville and Parvati were sitting up and looking about in confusion. Ron, however, was still out for the count.

"Hermione, what just happened?" Dean whispered, trying to get caught up on events.

"Shhhhhhh!" Hermione shushed him irritably.

"A running battle then ensued between the _Night Swan_ and the _Day Hawk_ as the former made to retreat…" Binns droned on in monotone. Harry sighed and propped his head up with his hand again, sincerely regretting that they did not have someone else teaching this class. All around him, classmates did the same, sinking back into a stupor.

 _Pity_ , Harry thought. _I'm going to miss the ending..._

…

"Hold them off for as long as it takes for Ozzy to get Rosalie back, then get us out of here." Adam snapped, his eyes still glued onto the _Day Hawk_.

"Aye!" Bilius replied. "Accordion Girl, get your tail down below decks and ready the cannons!"

"Yeppers!" Accordion Girl shouted. "They'll regret ever taking on Captain Rosalie and the _Night Swan_!" Spells whizzed overhead as the wizards exchanged fire. Bilius was hit by a tickling curse and doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. The crew of the _Day Hawk_ rushed about, wheeling four large cannons onto the main deck while the magical prow of the Night Swan snapped at them.

"Fire at will!" Morcant howled, spittle flying through the air.

" _Protego totalum!_ " Adam hollered just in time. The air rippled about the _Night Swan_ , the appearance was something similar to a heat wave, and Morcant's cannon balls bounced away from the ship.

"Adam!" Killian bellowed over the cacophony of spells and cannonballs hitting the shield around the Night Swan. "We've gotta get outta here!"

"Not without Ozzy and the captain!" Adam answered. The entire ship shook as the shield began to weaken.

"We can't hold out much longer!" Killian protested. "Ozzy can handle himself, Rosalie too if she is alive! She ordered us to get out if this blew up in our faces, and it has! She would not want us to be killed like this!" Adam's resolve crumbled as the shield shuttered again.

"We need to go!" Willet shouted as another barrage struck the shield.

Adam looked over the side one more time, then turned to the rest of the crew. "We're leaving." Willet gave a curt nod and Killian sighed in relief. "Hoist those sails!" All around, the crew got to work and Adam turned to look at the other ship. With a flick of his wand, the swan prow stopped tugging at the _Day Hawk_ 's mast and the carved wings that were normally tucked along the side of the ship raised up to shield the main deck.

With multiple shouts of " _Wingardium leviosa_!", the _Night Swan_ rose into the air and slowly maneuvered away, the _Day Hawk_ in hot pursuit. A cannon ball hurled past Killian's head and he threw himself to the deck with a string of curses.

"Where is Accordion Girl?" Adam bellowed. "What is taking her so long?" There was a crash of wood on wood as the shutters flew open and Accordion Girl stuck her head out of a gunport.

"Mor _can't_ catch us!" She howled gleefully at the _Day Hawk_. She disappeared back inside and her taunts were quickly replaced by a cannonball. It ripped through the mainsail with a crash, rocking the _Day Hawk_ in the water. Accordion Girl squealed loudly. " _SQUEEEEEE_! I HIT THEM!"

As the _Night Swan_ took to the sky, the _Day Hawk_ released one last volley of cannonballs and spells. The shield thudded under the impact for one last time before the ship escaped range. Finally the protective spell dissipated from around the _Night Swan_ and the ship sailed up into the clouds.

"All right, we're safe." Adam said. Killian picked himself up off the deck where he had been cowering.

"Phew. Now what?" He asked, brushing himself off.

"We do our best to find the Captain and Ozzy."

"How? You saw it, or didn't, they never resurfaced."

Adam gave a tight smile. "But we have the Captain's macaw." He turned to the bird, which was staring at him. "Go find Rosalie!"

" _Squack_!" Gypsy took off in a rush of cobalt wings.

"If they are out there, Gypsy will find 'em."

…

The water closed over Ozzy's head with a crash. The salt water stung at his eyes, but he kept them open nonetheless. Through the stained waters he spotted Rosalie's limp form floating like a ragdoll not far below, her wand still tightly clutched in her hand. He swam towards her as fast as he could, as she drifted, and gingerly plucked the wand from Rosalie as he lifted her to the surface.

The moment their heads broke through the surface, Rosalie immediately became reanimated. She coughed and spluttered for a moment before recovering her clarity.

"Ozzy!" She hacked ungracefully. "What in tarnation are you doing here?"

"Saving your wand!" He looked about frantically, but they had drifted away from the _Night Swan_ , which was trading fire with the _Day Hawk_. "Merlin's beard, we're too far to board the ship!" He was starting to struggle to keep both himself and Rosalie afloat.

"Then disapparate!" Rosalie howled.

"Where?"

"ANYWHERE DRY!" She coughed again.

"Alright!" Ozzy snapped his eyes shut and he and Rosalie felt as if they were being drug through a dark tunnel before being deposited on a dry beach. Rosalie fell backwards and sprawled in the sand while Ozzy pulled himself up and sat next to her, gazing out over the ocean.

"Where exactly are we?" Rosalie asked slowly. Ozzy grimaced.

"To be honest, I don't know for sure."

"You can't be serious."

"I think we are on one of the islands, but..."

"Well, we can figure that out later. Do you know any half-decent healing spells?"

"What?" Ozzy said, turning to Rosalie. "Oh blast…" Rosalie was twisted around, examining a large gash in her side. The bullet, while it had only grazed her, had scooped out a large chunk of flesh and her blood was trickling down into the sand.

"Well, that sure is going to leave a scar…" Rosalie winced.

"Here, I do know one spell," Ozzy said, kneeling down beside her. "It should work."

"Should work?" Rosalie squawked in protest. "What do you mean 'should work'?" But Ozzy had already pointed his wand to the wound and began a song like chant. Rosalie grimaced.

" _Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur_." The blood stopped trickling with the first words, then the wound itself began to heal with the repetitions.

"Huh," Rosalie said, looking at the scar which was all that was left of the wound. "Thanks, healing spells were the only ones I was never good at."

"You're welcome. I've only used that once before…" Ozzy said. "Oh, here is your wand."

"Thanks. Now, give me a second to clean up." Rosalie aimed her wand. " _Reparo!_ " Her shirt knit itself back together. " _Scourgify!_ " All the blood stains faded away, and she leapt to her feet.

"Right, now what?" Ozzy said, gazing out at the open waters for the _Night Swan_. Both ships, however, were nowhere in sight.

"If they managed to get away, they would have taken to the sky," Rosalie said, looking up grimly. "And with this cloud cover, they could be anywhere."

"Yeah…" Ozzy trailed off for a moment, watching the ocean.

"Here, let me send them a message so they know we are alive." Rosalie pulled out her wand and gave it a wave. " _Expecto Patronum!_ " A silver shining vapor came from the tip of her wand and condensed into a large swan. It soared about their heads twice before taking off into the clouds.

"You can do a Patronus?" Ozzy said, sounding impressed. "Not every witch and wizard can do that." Rosalie grinned.

"Thanks. Can you perform a Patronus?"

"Yes, a nautilus."

"Really? Well I think Adam's is a Great White shark. Personally I'm fine with the swan, they are such elegant creatures, but they can be dangerous if provoked. That's why my ship is built the way it is."

"I like the nautilus, myself, though a sea urchin wouldn't be too bad. I know a guy with a mouse of all things."

Rosalie snorted. "Did you know that I was so good with my spellwork that I was offered a position at Hogwarts as a professor?"

"No, impressive!"

"Yeah," Rosalie laughed. "I could never follow the rules though, I almost got expelled sixth year for wrestling the lake squid."

"That's generally what happens when one does something like that," Ozzy chortled. "So what should we do now?"

"Get off this beach, first of all. Maybe someone more helpful than Morcant lives around here."

"Well, I don't live here, but I'd like to think I'm more helpful than Morcant Bowes of all people." A voice said, followed by a harsh " _Squawk_!" Ozzy and Rosalie almost jumped out of their skins and whirled to face the voice, wands out. Rosalie broke into a grin and laughed, while Ozzy relaxed.

Standing in front of them was Alfred, peg leg and all, smiling with Gypsy perched on his shoulder. Gypsy launched off and landed on Rosalie in turn.

"Alfred! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Followin' that crazy bird of yours. I decided to come after ye but couldn't catch up in time. Saw the fireworks from here, and given that yer soppin' wet I assume you lost."

Rosalie winced. "Not entirely true - I won by the rules, lost by Morcant's anger."

"Cheated, did he? Well anyways, so then yer bird showed up and started flying rings and squawking at me. I figured I'd better follow 'er. Led me right to you."

"Good work, Gypsy!" Rosalie said, stroking the bird's bright feathers.

"Right, right, now if you two follow me, we can get aboard my ship and start looking for yours." Alfred said, marching off down the beach.

"Lead on!" Ozzy cheered.

…

"WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THAT BLOODY BIRD?" Adam roared. The _Night Swan_ had stalled out inside a cloud, and the crew was unable to see a thing. Accordion Girl sheepishly raised her hand as Adam glared at her. "When I said, 'Someone keep an eye on that macaw', I did not mean Accordion Girl." He sighed as Accordion Girl stared at her feet. "There goes my plan of following Gypsy to Ozzy and Rosalie."

"So what now?" Killian asked lethargically. "Everything that could have gone wrong has; Morcant shot Rosalie, who now is probably dead, Ozzy is lost looking for her, Morcant kicked our wands, and now we are lost in a cloud."

"Well, Gypsy could come back yet…" Adam said, rubbing his temples.

"BIRD!" Accordion Girl hollered, pointing frantically over the side of the ship. Everyone rushed over and peered through the darkening cloud, and sure enough, a large bird was coming towards them, but it was no macaw.

The swan was encased in a silvery glow, clearly no ordinary creature, and not even a real bird at all. It landed on the gracefully on the deck, folding its misty wings behind its back. Its beak opened and promptly spoke in Rosalie's voice.

" _We are safe, somewhere on an island. Be wary, Morcant may still be lurking about."_ The Patronus dissolved into nothingness, having delivered its message.

"They're alive!" Adam shouted, leading the crew into a series of cheers.

"Now we fly over every island we pass until we find them?" Killian asked. "I mean, this is certainly great luck, but which island?"

"Let's just start by landing, shall we?" Adam said, greatly cheered by the Patronus. With the wave of half a dozen wands, the _Night Swan_ gracefully began her descent. The ship touched down into the water just as the sun began to set. Weaving between the cays, the crew diligently searched the shore of every island to no avail. Just as they rounded one of the tiny islands, a dark ship came into view.

"Wait!" Killian protested as they sailed on. "What if that's Morcant?" Adam frowned as he peered out at the vessel; with golden light spilling out across the water it did not look very dangerous.

"If it is," Adam growled. "We'll blow him to bits!"

"Yeah, and that worked out so well last time." Killian grumbled. Just then a faraway voice echoed across the dark waters with a cry of " _Verdimillious_ ", and a shower of green sparks erupted over the unknown ship.

"Ooooh! Pretty! I like sparklers!" Accordion Girl cried and clapped her hands.

"Well, if that is Morcant, then I'm a merperson," Adam said resolutely. "No one on his ship would bother to send up warning sparks." They slowly steered the _Night Swan_ ever closer to the mystery ship, and had just gotten close enough to read the name of the vessel, the _Midnight Pickle_ , when a voice called out to them.

"Well, what do we got here?" A familiar, rough masculine voice sounded as the _Night Swan_ anchored next to the ship. "An' what are you good folks doing out in these shark infested waters?" There was a slight thump of a peg leg and Alfred appeared at the railing with a grin.

"Alfred!" Adam cried as the crew set up a gangplank to board the _Midnight Pickle_. "What are you doin' out here?"

"Morcant huntin', along with some friends of yours." Adam, Killian, Accordion Girl and the rest of the crew stepped onto the deck of Midnight Pickle to find Rosalie and Ozzy waiting for them.

"Rosalie!" Adam cried, looking quite relieved.

"Ozzy!" Killian shouted.

"ROSALIE!" Accordion Girl screamed, knocking Killian and Adam over as she barreled forward. She dove through the air and wrapped her arms around Rosalie's neck before bursting into tears. Ozzy barely managed to avoid being ran over, but tripped and fell to the deck anyways as Rosalie tried to squirm out of her grip.

Accordion Girl's bawling resounded through the air as everyone stared speechless. Rosalie awkwardly put one hand on her back as she cried into the captain's shoulder, small rivers of tears rolling downwards. Adam helped Killian up and Ozzy was sitting on the deck watching the odd scene.

" _OhCaptainRosalieIwassoworriedaboutyouandI'msogladyou'realiveandIlosttrakcofyourbirdandI'msorryand_..." Accordion Girl babbled, her voice muffled by Rosalie's shoulder. Rosalie sent a worried look Adam's direction and gently patted Accordion Girl, who's sobbing slowed down. Finally Accordion Girl started wiping her eyes and sniffing.

"It's okay, everyone is fine." Rosalie said softly, an exasperated look on her face. Accordion Girl nodded and took a step back. She looked Rosalie in the face, then launched into tears again and bolted back to the _Night Swan_.

"What was that about…?" Ozzy asked.

"I don't know. I just don't know," Rosalie said, gazing back at her ship. "But I'm even more soaked than when she knocked me overboard." She drew her wand and dried her shirt before turning to Adam and Killian. "So what happened while Ozzy and I were away?"

"We hauled wand out of there," Killian said. "Good 'ol Accordion Girl," he rolled his eyes. "put a nice cannonball through Morcant's sail."

"Wonderful!" Ozzy laughed.

"What about you two? We waited for as long as we could before we had to run. Later Accordion Girl lost track of Gypsy, then your Patronus appeared."

"After Morcant shot me," Rosalie's eyes blazed, "and Ozzy came after me, we disapperated and ended up on some little island. We cleaned up my wound, then who but Alfred here popped up and offered a ride."

Alfred gave an exaggerated bow. "My pleasure, lassie. Anytime."

"So what do we do now?" Killian asked. "Chase Morcant down and sink his bloody ship?"

"I like that idea, although we should _probably_ rescue my friends first," Ozzy added. "Next time maybe we should be a little less formal, perhaps?"

"Sneak aboard?" Rosalie frowned slightly.

"If y'all could distract 'em I could get aboard and get my friends out."

"It'll be hard getting in that close." Adam said. "They'll know the _Night Swan_."

"Then you take my ship's boat in, and use that fancy flyin' swan of yours to distract the scum." Alfred grinned, motioning towards a small boat roped to the side of the _Midnight Pickle_.

"That could work…" Rosalie nodded.

Accordion Girl's head burst out of a gun port, her eyes still red but her typical grin plastered across her face. "We're going after Morcant, cause MorCAN'T beat us?"

Adam sighed loudly. "Merlin's beard, the puns… I almost feel sorry for Morcant with that name… actually I don't."

Rosalie looked across the ships to Accordion Girl's eager face. "Oh, yes we are."

"YAY!" Accordion Girl pumped her fist and retreated back into the ship with a _thud_ and an "Ouch!" Everyone on the _Midnight Pickle_ laughed.

Ozzy smiled. "So when do we go?"


	8. Chapter 8

"I hate to be a downer and all, but I hope you have a good plan." Killian grumbled.

"You bet I do." Rosalie said confidently from the prow of the little boat. "However I may dislike the fact that Morcant won that last round, I cannot deny that I learned some valuable information."

"Like what?" Ozzy asked. Rosalie smiled mischievously.

"Sometimes it pays to have a father who was a wandmaker," She said. "Morcant's wand is made of gopher wood with a blackdragon whisker core."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Adam questioned.

"Gopher wood is exceptionally powerful, but it has a nasty habit of causing spells to backfire when the wand owner gets frustrated."

"So the plan is to make Morcant so frustrated that he slips up?" Ozzy inquired. "And how are we to do that?" Rosalie grinned.

"We have a secret weapon." She said, pointing towards the back of the boat. Everyone turned and stared at Accordion Girl as she made crazy faces at Gypsy.

"Oh, well, yeah, it shouldn't too hard for her to infuriate Morcant…"

"Our plan is hoping Accordion Girl frustrates Morcant enough that his spell backfires and doesn't kill her?" Adam frowned.

"Do you have a better idea?" Rosalie countered.

"'Suppose not."

"Right then," Rosalie said cheerfully. "Now that we have it all in order, all we have to do is wait for Alfred to get in position." Moments later, the _Night Swan_ dropped from the clouds and swooped low over the Day Hawk. There was an angry roar from the enemy ship, and the crew in the little boat had a perfect view of Morcant dashing about on the deck in a rage. Adam gave the boat a tap with his wand, and they stealthily sped forward towards the Day Hawk.

The small boat silently pulled up next to the _Day Hawk_ , where it sat dwarfed by the imposing vessel. Due to the commotion on deck, no one noticed the tiny ship as it bumped against the hull. Ghostlike, the small crew clambered up the wooden hull and into cover. Ozzy pointed towards a large wooden hatch and hissed a few words to his companions.

"Down there is the bridge, that's where Andel and Diane will be."

"Righty then," Rosalie whispered. "Stay low, once we have got Morcant's attention, then you can head in."

"Got it. Whenever you're ready..."

"Get out the cannons, you useless pondscum!" Morcant bellowed, spittle flying madly from the corners of his mouth. He turned and shook his fist at the _Night Swan_ , his eyes wild. "You'll be shark bait before I'm through with you!"  
"That's _very_ scary coming from a pirate who couldn't kill a monkey with a shoe!" Alfred hollered back, mooning the villainous pirate.

"Merlin's Beard!" Adam yelped, turning away. "I did _not_ want to see that!"

"Well, I dare say that Morcant did not either," Rosalie chuckled. "Alright, that's the signal, get ready Ozzy." Rosalie stood up and boldly marched out of hiding, flanked by Adam and Accordion Girl.

"What are you waiting for!" Morcant screeched at his crew below deck, leaning over the railing. "Fire those cannons!"

"CANNONS!" Accordion Girl squealed. Morcant whipped around and his jaw nearly dropped to the deck.

"Close your mouth, Morcant; you look like a codfish," Rosalie lazily drawled. "It's not an attractive look." Adam snorted as their opponent spluttered in anger.

"Enough of this! I almost killed you once, I can do it again!"

"And you are more than welcome to try again," Rosalie bowed. "But only if you defeat my secret weapon first."

Morcant gave a harsh cackle. "Oh, don't tell me your parrot is trained in the Dark Arts, now!"

"Well…." Rosalie tilted her head side to side. "Not quite." Rosalie and Adam stepped aside dramatically to reveal Accordion Girl who was standing behind them frantically trying to lick her elbow.

Morcant howled with laughter, pacing about the trio like a Wampus. "You want _me_ to fight your ship mascot?" His back finally facing the hatch, Ozzy and Killian darted out from their cover and down into the depths of the ship.

"That's the general idea." Rosalie grinned.

The fearsome pirate snickered. "Well then, this'll actually be pretty fun. I love me a good murder in the afternoon. Prepare your, _er_ , 'weapon'."

"Now, Accordion Girl, make sure you give us a good show." Rosalie winked.

"Okie-dokie!" Accordion Girl looked up from her accordion, a stormy look on her face. She slowly set the instrument on the deck, then drew her wand as she walked towards her opponent. Then she threw her left arm in front of her face, with her right angled up, pointing her wand at the sky.

"What's that supposed to be?" Morcant tilted his head. Adam and Rosalie tried and failed to conceal their laughter.

"Sorry Morcant, we don't know either."

Accordion Girl whirled her wand and pointed it at her foe. " _Alarte ascendare!"_ Morcant snarled and lifted his own wand.

" _Protego!_ "

The first spell slammed into the shield and deflected off, hurtling off towards one of Morcant's crew members. It hit him full on and sent him spiralling into the air and off the ship.

"Oops…" Accordion Girl looked around, startled.

"Score!" Rosalie crowed. Morcant shot a glare her way and turned back to his younger opponent.

" _Lacarnum inflamari!"_ With the pirate's words, a fireball materialized from the tip of his wand and sailed towards Accordion Girl.

" _Aquamenti!"_ She countered, sending a jet of water to extinguish the fireball. With a sudden _pop_ , Alfred apparated next to Rosalie and Adam.

"I had to come and watch," he explained. "This is shaping up to be one of the best duels in history."

"Indeed it is," Adam nodded. "Ooh, this'll be good!"

Accordion Girl thrust her wand out. " _Dimi…_ uh… _innuendo!"_

"Wait, she messed that up." Rosalie whispered. "It's _diminuendo_ , not whatever that was."

"It won't work…" Adam replied softly.

Yet Accordion Girl had evidently done something right, for Morcant began to shrink down to the size of a doll. A high pitched squeak, evidently a counterspell, rose up from the tiny form. Morcant's transformation reversed, and he was at full size once again.

"Well, what do you know…" Rosalie murmured.

" _Levicorpus!"_ Morcant shrieked. While his size had returned, his voice had not, and he now spoke in as if he had inhaled a large amount of helium. Accordion Girl found herself hanging upside down, suspended in the air.

" _Liberacorpus!"_ She countered, dropping down to the deck. "Took you long enough to get me!"

A smile danced across Rosalie's face as Adam and Alfred bent over laughing. Morcant whirled on them. "Silence!"

The command only caused further laughing. Morcant simmered, then opened his mouth to speak. Accordion Girl's voice cut him off before he could start. " _Anteoculatia!_ "

" _Protego!"_ Morcant squeaked again, sending the spell ricocheting off. Just then, Killian emerged from below deck with Ozzy and his friends in tow. The spell hit him dead in the forehead, causing his hair to transform into antlers.

"Bloody hell! What did you do to me?" Killian shouted, rubbing his head. Ozzy grabbed him and yanked him away from the duel.

"Sorry!" Accordion Girl peeped, then turned back to Morcant. " _Ebublio!"_

A flurry of bubbles erupted from the tip of her wand and swarmed across her opponent's face, some popping on his nose and others sticking in his goatee. He let loose several oaths and swatted the rest away.

"Good one!" Alfred shouted.

" _Ducklifors!"_ Accordion Girl's wand aimed at Morcant, but instead of the intended effect, they all found themselves watching a barrel transform into a duck. It waddled between the combatants, looked about, quacked a few times and then flew off the side of the ship.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Adam frowned. Rosalie shrugged.

Morcant drew himself up and pointed his wand at Accordion Girl, who had her hands on her hips and attempting to dance. " _Epoximise!"_

Accordion Girl found herself rooted to the ground, her legs frozen in the midst of a dance step. She smiled, for an idea was forming in her head. " _Tarantallegra!_ "

Against his will, Morcant began to dance, moving rapidly and striking his feet against the wooden planks of the deck. Several minutes later, amidst raucous laughter, the spell wore off. Grimacing, the pirate recomposed himself.

"I'm going to crush you, girl, like a bug!" Morcant growled and lifted his wand. " _Limaxmorphis!"_

Instead of casting the spell normally, it burst out from the back. He flew backwards, shifting and transforming into something quite small. Soon the transformation was complete, and a rather ugly, brightly colored sea slug flopped against the railing and rolled off into the sea.

Everyone stared in shock, except for Accordion Girl, who was giggling loudly.

"Well I never!" Rosalie murmured.

"Dubious Dugbogs!" One of Morcant's hooligans hollered. "You's dead!" The crew of the _Day Hawk_ reached for their wands and advanced upon their enemies.

" _Flipendo!_ " Another goon snapped his wand up, sending a spell towards Killian. Distracted, he glanced up, only to be hurled through the air by the pirate's jinx. As he flew threw the air, the rest of the crew of the _Night Swan_ sprinted towards Morcant's former employees. Killian flipped through the air, head over heels, and landed in Accordion Girl's arms.

"Good eye, mate!" Accordion Girl grinned and flipped up her eyepatch. Kilian gave a surprised yelp as she blinked two functional eyes at him, and he squirmed out of her arms.

Ozzy paused with his wand extended to stare at the two. "Oi, now that's something else… uh, nice eye you've got there, Accordion Girl."

"Thanks, 'eye' think so too!" She snapped the eyepatch back down and scampered off, stopping only to grab her accordion. Immediately she launched into a song as she ran back and forth across the deck, playing loudly behind the battle.

Spells flew back and forth, most being repelled or deflected. Adam aimed his wand and bellowed " _Periculum!"_ Red sparks flew from its tip and struck one his opponents in the chest, pushing the man off the deck and into the waves. A few of the sparks popped through the air, then faded away.

"Accordion Girl!" Rosalie called. "I want you to levitate this ship!"  
"Oh yay!" Her comrade yelled back, over the deafening sound of her accordion.

"Why her?!" Alfred groaned. "This isn't going to end well, lassie!"

"That's exactly the point!" Rosalie barked, a grin on her face.

" _Wingardium Leviosar!"_ Accordion Girl squealed, removing her wand from a compartment on her instrument. She made a vague motion with it and struck a pose. Instead of levitating the ship, Accordion Girl's spell caused several tongues of flame to erupt from the deck. Smoke plumed up through the air as the flames spread across the ship. "OH YAY!"

Morcant's minions looked about in terror and ran towards the railing. One after the other they leapt overboard to escape the flames.

"Someone grab Accordion Girl!" Adam hollered. "We all know she can't apparate!"

"I'm on it!" Rosalie shouted as she ran towards Accordion Girl, who was performing the chicken dance in front of the flames. Rosalie tackled her friend and popped away. The others followed in turn, vanishing from the deck to reappear on the _Night Swan_.

Behind them the _Day Hawk_ burned, the flames now completely covering the ship. Cheers filled the air, Accordion Girl's loud "Yippee!" standing out from the rest. Rosalie grinned and made her way over to where Ozzy and Andel were slapping each other on the back, Diane hanging off Ozzy's arm.

"Ah, and here is our brilliant Captain I was telling you about." Ozzy winked at her approach.

"Captain Rosalie, at your service," She said, performing her signature sweeping bow. There was a croaky squawk, and Gypsy landed on Rosalie's shoulder. "So, you must be Andel and Diane," she said, stroking Gypsy's glistening feathers. "Ozzy's told me a lot about you two."

"Oh, really?" Andel snorted and raised an eyebrow at Ozzy. " _Both_ of us, or just her?"

"Both, actually," Ozzy laughed.

"I admit, I am very surprised."

Ozzy rolled his eyes and punched Andel in the arm. His friend chuckled and looked aside at Rosalie, as the captain took a step forwards.

"You know, I could use two more scallywags on my ship," Rosalie winked, flicking her brown curls back. "And any friends of Ozzy's are more than welcome."

"What do you think? Sounds like a good deal." Andel looked at his sister. She shrugged.

"No complaints here!"

"That's great and all," Killian snapped from behind Rosalie. "But has no one noticed that I STILL HAVE THESE BLOODY ANTLERS?"

"Oh…" Rosalie grimaced and turned to the glowering pirate as the crew roared with laughter. "Right… does anyone know the counterspell?" Killian spluttered indignantly as the crew shrugged and shook their heads, laughing at his predicament.

"Sorry, laddie," Alfred chortled as Ozzy bent double with laughter. "I've seen my fair share of spells, but nothin' like the stuff I've just seen spouting for Accordion Girl's wand!"

"Don't you fret now, my prong-horned friend," Rosalie howled, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'll have those gone in a jiffy."

"In a jiffy?" Killian screeched. "I thought you said you didn't know the countercurse!"

"On the count of three…"

"No, wait!"

"One!" Adam grinned.

"No, it's ok, really!"

"Two!" Ozzy shouted.

"Hang on-"

"THREE!" Accordion Girl squealed.

" _Arboreis Apage_!" Rosalie bellowed. Killian yelped, and his antlers vanished with a pop. He frantically felt his head, then relaxed once he made sure that he was antler-free.

"Ugh, it's going to take a lot of drinks to forget that!" Killian grumbled, and the crew howled with laughter.

"Then it sounds like a stop at _The Eighth Child_ is in order!" Alfred winked.

"Righty-o, you heard him, men!" Rosalie cried, climbing a ways up the shrouds. "To Octavia it is! So, lift that anchor, will ya?" The crew cheered and faster than you could say terrible terrorsquid, the _Night Swan_ was sailing once more.

"I daresay this calls for a celebration!" Adam grinned.

"A splendid idea!" Rosalie laughed. "Killian, Accordion Girl, Ozzy! Fetch those instruments of yours!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Killian saluted her.

"HA HA HA, ACCORDIONS!" Accordion Girl trilled excitedly.

Rosalie snorted ungracefully at the startled looks that had appeared on Andel and Diane's faces. "Then in honor of our two newest crew members, would one of the Watters like to choose a song?"

"Well," Diane said, a smile spreading across her face. "I've always liked _Wizards of the Sea_."

"Excellent choice!" Rosalie roared, and conducting the crew with her wand, she led them in a rousing chorus as the _Night Swan_ sailed off into the setting sun.

" _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey!_

 _We're hoisting the crest to be free_

 _We will steal the show, Hogwarts go_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea_

 _Don't try to run, it's all said and done_

 _There's a treasure in sight_

 _We are robbing you blind I hope you don't mind_

 _We are taking it all tonight_

 _Just walk away we will conquer it all_

 _Pirates will stand and the loser will fall_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey_

 _We're bound to be close to the sea_

 _Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing_

 _Pirates are all we can be_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey!_

 _We're hoisting the crest to be free_

 _We will steal the show, Hogwarts go_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea_

 _Down to the core we're coming for more_

 _With a wand close at hand_

 _We are scary and bold, with a chest full of gold_

 _We get sea legs when sighting land_

 _The wand of our captain is pointing at you_

 _There's no Vindictus Viridian so what can you do_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey_

 _We're bound to be close to the sea_

 _Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing_

 _Pirates are all we can be_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey!_

 _We're hoisting the crest to be free_

 _We will steal the show, Hogwarts go_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey_

 _We're bound to be close to the sea_

 _Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing_

 _Pirates are all we can be_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey!_

 _We're hoisting the crest to be free_

 _We will steal the show, Hogwarts go_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey_

 _We're bound to be close to the sea_

 _Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing_

 _Pirates are all we can be_

 _With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey!_

 _We're hoisting the crest to be free_

 _We will steal the show, Hogwarts go_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea_

 _We are Wizards of the Sea!_

 _HEY!_ "

 **Author's Note:**

 **The song is based on Pirates of the Sea's song** ** _Wolves of the Sea_** **, albeit the Alestorm version. Changes by Frederic Axel Rorland.**


	9. Epilogue

Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried from Professor Binns' classroom, attempting to beat the rush back to the common room before lunch.

"Remind me, Hermione," Harry groaned, jumping the trick stair as they marched up the staircase. "Why do we need to go back to the common room again?"

"I'm out of ink and I need to get my herbology textbook." She said briskly, rooting through her bag.

"Yeah, well, I need to give Scabbers his rat tonic and make sure your bloody cat has not gotten him." Ron grumped. Hermione ignored the spurn upon Crookshanks and changed the subject.

"Do you think Hagrid will have something else besides flobberworms planned for us today?"

"I doubt it," Harry said dully. "He's probably-" Just then, the staircase lurched, throwing the trio into the stone railings.

"Bloody hell!" Ron swore. "It's moving us to the fourth floor!"

"It's alright," Hermione grumbled as the stairs slid into place with a dull scraping sound and they stepped onto the landing. "We can just get the next stair to the seventh floor." Harry, however, had stopped to stare at the large, animated painting that hung against the wall.

"Hang on…" He said slowly, and the trio leaned in for a closer look.

It was a crew of rowdy pirates bustling across the deck of a wizarding pirate ship. The strange sailing vessel was shaped like a swan, which glided several feet above the painted waves as if it was making its descent. As they watched, a titanic shark burst from the water, its great jaws clamping down where the ship had been moments before.

"Shark!" Yelled a short little pirate, as the crew began to race about frantically.

"Yeh don't say!" The burly first mate hollered back as the beast tried to wrap its massive jaws about the animated swan prow.

"Bloody 'ell!" Another wizard ran towards the front of the ship, wildly brandishing a rapier. "We need to get higher!"

"Why's it gotta be a shark?" The short pirate whined, leaning over the railing to peer into the waters as a zany witch with an eye patch ran up behind him. "The sardine hex sounds great right about now…"

"SARDINES!" She squealed, striking a pose and lurching into him as the boat rocked from another attack by the shark.

"Alright!" A voice bellowed, and a curly haired witch in a blue skirt ran up, drawing her wand and rolling her white sleeves up with a dangerous look on her face. "Stand back!" The crew scrambled away as she skillfully dashed up the swan's neck, until she was balancing precariously on the tip of its beak. "HERE FISHY, FISHY, FISHY!" She hollered angrily as the ship touched down. As if it had heard her taunts, the colossal shark leapt from the water, its toothy grin spread in a deadly embrace. " _REDUCTO_!" The shark exploded into bits of slimy chunks, raining back down into the water. The crew cheered as the witch gracefully slid down the swan's curved neck and back onto the deck.

"That's our Captain!" A pirate shouted. "Shark soup for all!" The crew cheered and clapped each other on the backs as Harry, Ron and Hermione watched on, wide eyed in surprise.

"You don't reckon…..?" Harry said slowly, and the trio grinned at each other gleefully.


End file.
